Itachi Sensei
by Blackwolfhunting
Summary: The Massacre never occurred and the Uchiha never had a Coup. giving the Uchihas the chance to continue life in Konoha including one very special one. Itachi is given a chance to become a Sensei to a group of Genin, will they prove to be too much or will he be able to help each one to become the next powerful ninja that he knows they can be. Image does not belong to me!
1. Team 7

Chapter One

Team 7

"You have got to be kidding me." He said as he looked at his younger brother, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he did. "You seriously got kicked out of class the day before your graduation exam because you over did it in a spar?"

The little boy in front of his brother nodded his head as he shuffled his feet, his spiked up in the back hair waving as he did. He wore a simple short sleeved blue shirt with a high collar and white shorts along with white arm bands. His onyx eyes showed his shame and embarrassment. "I didn't mean to, but that idiot Naruto is always taunting me and insulting me that I seem to always just lose it around him." He said as he finally looked up at his brother. "I'm sorry I got kicked out but I'm not sorry for hurting him Itachi, he deserved it!"

Itachi sighed as he crouched down in front of his brother, his long raven hair swinging back and forth in its ponytail at the moment while his calm onyx stared into his little brother's face. He wore black Anbu style pants typed at the ankles and a black muscle tank top shirt that showed his Anbu tattoo from long ago. "I understand Sasuke, but you have to learn to curb that temper of yours. What are you going to do on a mission when an enemy ninja does the same to you? You can't afford to lose that control." Itachi explained as calmly and as firmly as possible.

Sasuke nodded his head in acknowledgement. "So how am I going to handle Naruto then? He's always taunting me or trying to get me to fight him, I don't know why though." Sasuke said as he looked towards his brother for advice.

Itachi smiled at this as he stood up and ruffled his hair. "Just ignore him when he starts things with you little brother, I know it's hard to do at first, but it'll be worth it in the end. Now I think it's time we head towards the hospital, you need to apologize to Naruto for setting him on fire." Itachi stated with a glare.

Sasuke slumped his shoulders at that but nodded his head. "Yes big brother." With that the two of them walked out of their house in the Uchiha District and walked towards the hospital in a comfortable silence. It wasn't until they were just about to step into the hospital that Sasuke saw something out of the corner of his eye and gasped. "Dobe! What are you doing out here?" Sasuke called as he jogged over to a blonde wearing a bright orange jumpsuit with blue running down the middle along the zipper.

The blonde turned and looked at Sasuke with a glare on his face, or what Sasuke could see of his face anyways. The blonde had several bandages on his face and a couple of them covered his whisker birthmarks on his cheeks. His hands were wrapped as well and Sasuke knew that his legs and torso would be just as swathed in bandages too. "Go away Teme." Naruto spat as he turned to continue walking down the road, leaning heavily against the hospital for support.

Sasuke frowned at the blonde before he decided that the idiot needed his help and quickly ran over to his side and grabbed one of the blonde's arms, throwing it over his shoulder. Naruto lost his balance due to the shift of his weight transferring to something else and almost fell if it wasn't for the taller boy. "Geez Dobe, you're really hurt, why aren't you in the hospital?" Sasuke asked as he took in the other boy's injuries.

Naruto scowled at Sasuke heatedly. "And whose fault is it that I'm like this?" Naruto spat out, causing Sasuke to flinch. "If I had known commenting on your mother like that would get me burnt to a crisp, I would've just kept my mouth shut." Naruto muttered as he continued to walk with Sasuke's help.

"Wait, he insulted our mother?" Itachi asked as he suddenly appeared in front of the two twelve year old boys. Naruto yelped in surprise and tripped over his feet and fell backwards. Sasuke was unable to keep the other up this time due to the unexpected shift and fell with him, both landing on their butts.

"Big Brother! Don't do that!" Sasuke scowled at his brother before turning to a whimpering next to him, raising an eyebrow when he realized that Naruto was covering his mouth to cover the whimpers he was releasing while his eyes stared wide at something in front of them.

Sasuke looked up at his brother and almost cringed himself in fear. Itachi had activated his Sharingan at the mention of their mother being insulted; unconsciously deciding that Naruto was a threat. Itachi moved to say something but Naruto was already on his feet and running away from the two Uchiha brothers, not even looking back to see if he was being followed.

Sasuke sat on the ground and watched the blonde run, wondering where he had the energy to do that when he could barely walk only a minute ago. "Itachi, I think you scared him." Sasuke said as he turned back to his now deeply breathing brother, Itachi's eyes were shut as he fought for control. "And you told me not to let him get to me." Sasuke scoffed.

Itachi opened his eyes to glare at his brother with his onyx eyes, Sharingan deactivated. "Unfortunately that's the one thing that can truly piss me off. No one insults the woman who gave birth to me and raised me, not even twelve year old boys." Itachi explained as he began walking back towards the Uchiha District. "I've changed my mind; you don't need to apologize to him anymore since he was rude to you first." Itachi said as he led a smiling Sasuke back to their home.

Itachi Sensei

"Alright everyone, we're going to start calling you. This next part is the Bunshin jutsu. Good luck to you all." Iruka said as he called the first student in and then closed the door behind him.

"Man, I can't wait to get my headband!" A boy with spiky brown hair said, his grey hood of his jacket throw back as he rubbed his head. "Being a ninja is goin to be so awesome!" He stated as a little puppy in the front of his jacket yipped its agreement.

"I know right, I can't wait either." Naruto said as he looked towards the door with apprehension. "I even practiced really hard last night to pass today. You wouldn't believe the things I actually know now!" Naruto boasted as he fidgeted with his bandaged hands a little. He still had some injuries from yesterday after his incident with Sasuke and that fireball. Another name was called and Shino soon disappeared into the testing area. "Man I'm so nervous though Kiba, I'm not sure if I'll pass this time either." He admitted.

"Ah, don't worry man; I'm sure you'll pass this time!" Kiba said as he patted his friend and the shoulder. "Just give it all you got." He encouraged.

Naruto nodded his head as he fell into silence, his nerves finally getting the better of him as name after name was called and soon it was Naruto's turn. "Alright Naruto, show us what you got." Mizuki said as he watched the blonde with calculating eyes.

Naruto gulped but nodded his head as he began the Bunshin jutsu, concentrating as hard as he possibly could to try and get the results needed. "Bunshin!" HE shouted as he completed the jutsu and looked towards either side of him in expectation, only for his face to fall as he realized he had made only one clone and it was terribly pathetic.

"You fail Naruto." Iruka said as he slammed the failed stamp onto Naruto's papers. Naruto nodded his head as he grits his teeth, already knowing that this was the most likely turnout for him. He couldn't make a clone to save his life.

"Oh come on Iruka, let him pass. He made a clone after all." Mizuki said with an easy going smile. Naruto didn't even look up, he already knew what Iruka was going to say.

"I cannot in good conscious allow him to pass Mizuki. He failed his written test, his genjutsu, and his ninjutsu, and he just barely scrapped by his weaponry and taijutsu. I just can't let him pass when he can't even produce one useable clone; all of the others were able to make at least two." Iruka said as he gave Naruto a sad nod.

Naruto didn't even wait to hear anymore and left the room, heading straight out of the academy building and towards his favorite spot, the swing where he watched all the graduating Genin gather with the families. His sapphire eyes landed on a familiar head of raven hair that was surrounded by three older raven haired people. Naruto knew that that was Sasuke's family; his mom, his dad, and his brother.

Naruto continued to watch the families congratulating the new genin while he ignored any whispers about him and how it was a good thing he hadn't become a ninja. All he could do as the whisper surrounded him along with the happy cheers from the families was to grit his teeth and just bear it. There was nothing he could do about it anyways, especially since he had nothing and no one to go home to.

"Hey Naruto," the blonde looked up at Mizuki, wondering what he wanted, "how about I tell you about the makeup exam. That way you can become a ninja."

Itachi Sensei

Itachi smiled as he watched his little brother celebrate with their family, even their father was showing a proud smile. That didn't happen very often since Fugaku Uchiha was a very strict man and an even stricter father, but he knew that this was a time for celebration.

Sasuke was just taking a huge bite out of a tomato pie that their mother had made for him when there was a knock on the door. Itachi stood and answered it while everyone else continued celebrating. He blinked in surprise at the haggard appearance of one Ebisu, glasses crooked on his face slightly and breathing heavily. "What's happened?" Itachi asked at once, realizing that something was very wrong at the moment for a Jounin to be this out of it.

"It's Naruto Uzumaki; he's taken the scroll of sealing." Ebisu said as he began to back up sunshine. "Hokage-sama wants all available Chuunin and Jounin searching for him before either of them fall into the wrong hands." Ebisu informed before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Itachi cursed at this and ran back into the house to grab his gear and go, only to stop and whisper in his father's ear at what had happened. Fugaku stiffened before he nodded his head and stood up as well. "We'll return shortly, there has been an emergency that must be taken care of." Fugaku said as he followed his eldest out of the house. "I shall get the Uchiha Police mobilized instantly. Go and find him before anything else happens." He ordered to Itachi before he disappeared.

Itachi took off instantly, searching for any sign of Naruto. He could see several Ninja already running all over the place, along with Anbu who were slipping in and out of shadows and buildings and anywhere else in an effort to find the boy. Itachi already knew that Naruto was extremely good at stealth and that it would be hard to find the boy if he didn't want to be found, but he knew of one man that could find the blonde no matter what.

Itachi quickly set out and caught onto the trail of Iruka Umino, one of the only people who actually showed any care towards the blonde. "Iruka!" Itachi called as he came to run next to the older man.

"Itachi." Iruka nodded at him as he glanced at him before looking back to the front. "He'll be up ahead and then we can find out why he took the scroll." Iruka informed and just as the brown haired male knew they arrived into a clearing where Naruto was panting heavily, gasping in air as he collapsed onto the ground. "Stay here just in case anyone else arrives or he bolts for it." Iruka said and jumped down to confront the blonde.

Itachi would've rolled his eyes at Iruka telling him what to do, Itachi was after all the higher ranked ninja, but he did as told as he realized that Naruto was actually answering Iruka's questions. When Naruto informed Iruka that he was taking a makeup test from Mizuki Itachi knew instantly what was happening then.

"Ah, Iruka, how good of you to arrive." The three sets of eyes instantly fell onto Mizuki, who was grinning maliciously down at the pair. "After all, you're the only other person in this village who even cares about that monster." He stated as he unhooked a large shuriken off of his back.

"Mizuki! What do you think you're doing?" Iruka yelled as he prepared for a fight, already knowing that the silver haired teacher was a traitor. Naruto was sat on the ground still, the scroll now resting against his back as he looked between his teachers in confusion.

"I'm just doing the village a favor." Mizuki stated as he began to spin his weapon, preparing a throw. "After all, no one wants a demon that can destroy them!" Mizuki shouted as he threw the weapon at a frozen Naruto.

"Get down Naruto!" Iruka shouted as he covered a now terrified Naruto. The sound of a metal on metal made Iruka look up stare at Itachi in relief. "Thanks Itachi." Iruka said as he stood up and came to stand next to Itachi, who was blocking Naruto from sight.

Mizuki growled as Itachi smirked at him, before his smirk returned. "Why would you want to protect just a monster? Why don't you just kill it now before it destroys us all?" Mizuki questioned as he leaned up against the tree with his arms crossed.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked carefully as he looked around Iruka, trying to stay away from the Uchiha that had terrified him the other day. "Why am I a monster?" Naruto asked as he looked up at Mizuki with curious but wary eyes.

"Don't listen to him Naruto." Iruka said as he pulled out a Kunai to throw. "Be quiet Mizuki! It's forbidden to be spoken of! You know that!" Iruka shouted at the Silver haired Chuunin. Itachi scowled at the Chuunin as he prepared to jump at the other to stop him.

"Haha, you're a monster because you have the most feared monster sealed inside of you! You have the Kyuubi No Kitsune sealed in you that destroyed the village twelve years ago!" Mizuki shouted out maniacally as he stood up straight, laughing at the look of horror on Naruto's face.

"Shut up Mizuki! Iruka get Uzumaki and the scroll out of here!" Itachi shouted as he finally jumped at the Chuunin, who dodged him by jumping to another tree.

Iruka nodded his head and turned to grab Naruto, only to realize that Naruto wasn't behind him anymore. "Shit! Itachi, Naruto ran for it!" Iruka informed the Uchiha.

Itachi cursed as he looked towards Iruka to confirm that and then look back to where Mizuki was, only to realize he was gone too. "Damn it! We have to find them now or Uzumaki is going to be killed and the Scroll of Sealing will be gone!" Itachi yelled as he took off in a direction that he thought Naruto would take, not realizing that Iruka had also gone off.

It was only a few minutes that he came upon Naruto but he didn't make a move towards him, instead he watched hidden in the trees as Iruka came up to him to get the scroll away. Itachi smirked happily as Naruto slammed into Iruka, who reverted back to Mizuki afterwards and Naruto turned into Iruka.

"Why are you protecting that monster?" Mizuki asked as he looked at his old friend and partner. "Why would you go out of your way to protect something that'll destroy the village and kill you in the end, it only leave you disappointed and then rip your head off!?" Mizuki yelled at his fellow Chuunin.

Iruka bowed his head as he nodded. "You're right." Iruka said and Itachi frowned at that, wondering if he would have to protect the boy from his other sensei too. "You're right, that's how a monster would act, but that's not Naruto!" Iruka shouted at the end with a smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes. "Naruto would never do anything like that and I believe that he can do anything he sets his mind to, otherwise he wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki of the Village hidden in the Leaves!"

Itachi smiled at that but then frowned as he realized that Mizuki had just launched his second large shuriken at the academy teacher. "Whatever, I'll just kill you and then get the scroll from the brat!" Mizuki exclaimed.

Itachi was just about to leap down and intercept the shuriken so Iruka wouldn't be harmed, but he froze as an orange blur appeared in front of Iruka, taking the shuriken straight to the chest. "Naruto!" Iruka yelled as he looked at the figure in horror, wondering why the boy would do that when Iruka wasn't even injured.

Then they all stared in surprise as the little orange body disappeared into a poof of smoke. "Touch my sensei and I'll kill you." A growl of voices echoed all around Mizuki, startling not only the traitor, but the academy teacher and Jounin. None of them had recognized the orange dots appearing from the shadows and from the looks of it, Itachi would have to guess that there were at least a hundred of Naruto.

"What, what is this?" Mizuki asked as he stared in horror at the multiple Naruto surrounding him, making him back up but then having to stop as more Naruto appeared directly behind him.

"This is what I learned from the damned scroll you tricked me into getting." A Naruto said as he appeared next to Iruka, obviously the original since he had the scroll on his back. "You shouldn't have tricked me like that Mizuki-Sensei, because now you'll get everything you did to me and Iruka back a hundred fold." He stated and the clones instantly jumped onto a screaming Mizuki.

Itachi could only watch as Mizuki was pummeled and only once the Chuunin was incapacitated did Itachi appear next to Naruto. "Good job Uzumaki, you learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Itachi stated as he patted the boy on the head. "Though you could've done without stealing that scroll." Itachi said as he tried to pull the scroll off of the boy.

Naruto instantly jumped away from Itachi before he could pull the scroll fully away from him, glaring at the Uchiha. "You're not getting this scroll away from me!" Naruto announce with a suspicious glare.

Iruka sighed with a smile on his face as he came to a stop in front of Naruto and crouched to be on eye level with the boy. "He was only going to take it so he could return it back to Hokage-sama. The Scroll of Sealing is full of forbidden jutsu of the entire village and in the wrong hands it can cause problems." Iruka explained.

Naruto stared into Iruka's eyes for several moments before nodding his head, but he didn't remove the scroll from his back but instead held on tighter to it. "But since I was the one who took it in the first place, I should be the one to return it." Naruto stated as he looked away from Iruka at the end.

Iruka smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "Alright then, I'll escort you back to the Hokage Tower, alright?" Iruka asked and got a nod from Naruto. "But before we go, close your eyes, I have something for you." Iruka said. Naruto looked at him curiously before nodding his head and waited. He felt his goggles pulled off of his head and then something soft settled onto his forehead. "Alright, open your eyes." Iruka said happily.

Naruto did as he was told and looked up at Iruka, his eyes widening as he realized that Iruka's headband was no longer on the man's forehead. His hand reached up to his own and felt the scratched and dented piece of metal on his own forehead. "Iruka…" Naruto whispered as he realized what this meant.

Iruka smiled at him as he stood up. "Congratulations Naruto, you pass." Naruto stared at his Sensei for a long time, not making a move, causing Iruka to chuckle nervously. That was when tears gathered in Naruto's eyes and he launched himself at his Sensei, hugging the man tightly.

Itachi watched the interaction with a smile on his face. 'Maybe Uzumaki isn't as bad as I thought.' He thought as he chuckled with the laughing Iruka and Naruto.

Itachi Sensei

"So, we're a team now." Sasuke said as he looked at Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto nodded his head tiredly while Sakura was beaming like a million watt bulb. She had long pink hair and emerald eyes, wearing a red dress with short sleeves that fell to her knees but had slits up the sides all the way to her hips with black kunoichi shorts on. Her head band held her bangs out of her face and showed off her huge forehead. "Yeah Sasuke! We're teammates now so we should go and eat lunch together." She stated eagerly.

Sasuke stared at her blankly for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright I guess." He said as he remembered what his brother told him before, that he would need to get to know his teammates if they were to make a good team. "Let's go find someplace to eat then." Sasuke said and stood up from his place at the desk. "Come on Sakura, Naruto, let's go."

Naruto stiffened and Sakura stared at Sasuke as if he had just turned into a raven. "Did you just invite _Naruto_ to come with us?" Sakura asked, spitting Naruto's name out like poison.

Sasuke turned and looked at her, catching Naruto's own incredulous stare before replying. "I did, why?" Sasuke asked as he took in the disappointment and anger in her eyes. "He's our teammate Sakura and this isn't a date. This is so we can better get to know each other." Sasuke stated as he turned to continue walking. "So let's go get to know each other you two."

Naruto stared after Sasuke in complete surprise for several minutes before he stiffly stood up and followed him, Sakura already by the raven's side in her eagerness to stay close to him. Naruto caught up with them quickly and walked towards the center of the village where all the booths and restaurants were and Naruto deflated quite a bit when he realized where Sasuke was taking them. "Um, I think I'll just head to my apartment and get something to eat." Naruto said as he turned to leave, only to be grabbed by either arm.

"I don't think so Naruto. We're a team so we'll eat together like a team just like Sasuke said we would." Sakura stated as she held onto his left arm.

"She's right Dobe, so come on; I'll even pay for you." Sasuke said as he began to drag Naruto in behind him. Naruto tried to force his way out of Sasuke's hold, but Sasuke proved to be much stronger than him. Sakura had released his arm as soon as Sasuke had started dragging Naruto inside.

"Let me go Teme, you don't need to pay for me cause I'm not staying." Naruto snarled quietly as he tugged at his arm but was eventually forced into a booth where Sasuke sat next to him so he couldn't get away. "You guys do not want me in here with you, trust me." Naruto muttered quietly, trying to persuade the two of them to let him go. It wasn't going to work out like he wanted because just as Sakura was going to say something, a waitress appeared.

"How may I help you today?" She asked as she looked at the group, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Naruto who was surreptitiously trying to hide behind Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly ordered for them. "A platter of Beef and Chicken please and a tomato on the side." Sasuke then turned to his companions, only to get two looks from them. "What?" He asked but the two just shook their heads and Naruto returned to hiding behind Sasuke the best he could.

"Alright, it'll be right up." The waitress said as she left to go and get their order.

"So why did you order a tomato?" Naruto asked as he looked around the BBQ restaurant.

Sasuke scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I like tomatoes, big deal." Sasuke said as he stuck his nose in the air as if offended. "Besides," Sasuke turned back to a fidgeting Naruto, "why are you in such a rush to get out of here, I'm paying for lunch after all." Sasuke stated with a curious look plastered on his face. Sakura was wondering this as well and turned her full attention onto Naruto at the moment.

"Yeah, why are you in such a hurry to leave, you normally take Iruka-Sensei up on his offer of treating you to Ramen whenever he asks." Sakura pointed out as she pointed a finger at the blonde.

"Um, well, you see," Naruto said as he looked down at the table and sighed in resignation. He knew that no lie would be believable no matter what he said, so he decided just to tell them the truth. "People just don't like me." Naruto stated as he looked away from the two fully, turning towards the window he had been placed by. "Ever since I was young, an orphan mind you, no one really cared for me or liked me so I'm usually kicked out of restaurants or stores." He explained, watching as a child walked alongside his mother, talking happily as he held her hand. The mother smiling at the young boy.

The two other genin were quiet as they watched their friend, trying to figure him out as they took in the information. "Now that I think about it, you're the only orphan in our entire class." Sakura said with a frown, now just realizing how hard it must've been for her teammate. "I don't ever remember anyone picking you up from the academy so you haven't been adopted." Sakura said thoughtfully.

Sasuke was quiet as he allowed his pink haired teammate think aloud, watching as Naruto flinched at the 'not adopted' part. "Did you ever stay at an orphanage then?" Sasuke asked as Sakura began to mumble to herself, catching her back to the conversation.

Naruto glared sullenly out the window at the mention of an orphanage. "I live in one for a few years before I was finally booted out. Not like I was getting much anyways from them." The blonde said with a growl. He finally shook his head as he turned towards the two with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What about you two? You must've had great times with your family! There's no way you could've had worse off than me." Naruto turned the conversation onto his two teammates quickly.

The two nodded their heads but before either one of them could speak their order arrived. "Here you go and here's that tomato you wanted Uchiha-san. Is there anything else I can get you?" She asked as she sat two glasses of water on the table, each going to Sakura or Sasuke.

"No we're good." Sakura said. "I guess you could say that I did have a pretty easy childhood." Sakura said as she turned back to Naruto. "The only problem I had for a little bit was being made fun of because of the size of my forehead." Sakura said as she tapped her forehead her thumb while the rest of her fingers were fisted. "Other than that, yeah, I had a pretty normal childhood, nothing spectacular of course since my parents only get Chuunin pay." She explained with a small smile.

"Wait, you have ninja for parents?" Naruto asked as he looked at her in surprise, as did Sasuke. "I always thought your parents were civilians, not ninja." Naruto stated his thoughts.

Sakura giggled but nodded her head. "I'm not surprised you thought that, especially since I don't actually act like a real ninja myself yet. You see my mom retired from being a ninja when she got pregnant with me and my dad was forced to retire when his knee got obliterated in a mission. He has a new one of course, but it's not quite able to handle the same pressure a real knee can." Sakura explained.

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded their heads in understanding and there was a pause in conversation as all three started laying meat onto the barbeque pit in front of them, ready to start cooking their food. "What about you Teme? What was your childhood like?" Naruto asked as he snatched Sasuke's glass of water and took a sip from it. Sasuke scowled at him and swiped it back, wiping the rim off before drinking some of it as well.

"My childhood…I guess you could say it was normal, at least for being an Uchiha. I don't know how other's live but I know that I lived in a very tight and strict family." Sasuke started as he flipped some of the meat so it didn't burn. "My father is very strict and he wanted me to be the best out of anyone, just like my brother. My brother had activated his Sharingan by the time he was seven and was in Anbu by the time he was twelve. Since we are the main branch of Uchiha and the head of the family too we have to set an example and by accomplishing what he did, Itachi set a high standard for me to reach." Sasuke explained with a firm frown on his face as he did.

"Wow, I'm glad I'm not in a clan now." Sakura admitted as she looked at Sasuke with new understanding eyes. "To have to live up to someone like Itachi Uchiha, that would drive me crazy!" Sakura said as she ran a hand through her hair. Naruto nodded his head slightly in agreement.

Sasuke nodded his head at that too. "You can't even start to understand the pressure I felt for a long time too! I even tried to graduate from the Academy earlier but was denied even trying." Sasuke stated before putting some of the meat on his plate as it was done, his teammates doing the same. "If Itachi hadn't of told me not to worry about it, that I was already doing really well for my age, I would've gone nuts! My father is still really strict and expects a lot but I don't let it bother me anymore. I'm doing what I need to do to get better, not what he wants me to do." Sasuke stated with a smirk on his face. "And it seems to be working too."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he ate the meat he had taken for his share, sneaking sips of water from Sasuke's glass as he did. "I see, but at least you have someone who wants you to do really well for yourself. I'm sure your dad loves you either way anyways." Naruto stated as he looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked at him in surprise before nodding his head. "My mom said something similar one time, but it would still be nice to hear it from the man himself." Sasuke admitted.

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. "I agree, I'd like to hear that I'm doing well in the ninja arts from my parents now and then too." She rarely did in the first place anyways.

Naruto frowned at the two of them as he swallowed the last piece of meat he got. "I think you two are forgetting what you have." Naruto said as he snatched a piece of meat off of Sasuke's plate. "You need to appreciate what they do for you before you lose them." Naruto said, scowling when Sasuke stopped him from taking any more of the Raven's food.

Sakura frowned at Naruto as she crossed her arms over her chest, her chopsticks coming to rest on her forearm. "What are you talking about Naruto? I appreciate my parents I would just like getting a little encouragement here and there is all." She stated.

Naruto went to open his mouth but was stopped by the arrival of someone else. "Uzumaki speaks the truth. Appreciate what you have and don't push for too much, you could destroy what you already have."

"Aniki! What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked as he looked up at the older Uchiha.

Itachi smiled at the group of genin in front of him, taking in the fact that Naruto was once again trying to hide behind his little brother. "I'm here because you didn't show back up at the Academy on time so I had to search for you instead."

The three blinked in surprise. "So wait, Sasuke's older brother is our Sensei?" Sakura asked as she turned to her teammates.

Itachi smirked evilly as he looked at his younger brother with a gleam in his eyes. "That's right. I'm team 7's Sensei."

Itachi Sensei

A.N. Haha, the first chapter is done with! I can't wait to continue this chapter. I started writing Itachi Sensei because I saw this picture of Team 7 as Itachi as Sensei. I even went to see if I could find a Fanfiction story and I did find one! but only ONE so far. I hope you guys like this one though! Review please would be great!

Next up: What is a Ninja?

I would like everyone to think about some of the authors on Fanfiction that died recently or a while ago. Some of them died in tragic accidents while others have died from illness and either have left unfinished stories or have had others finish them for them in memory. I would like everyone reading this to lower their heads, clasp their hands together and pray for those who have been lost recently. Allow there to be a moment of silence for wherever you, the reader, are and remember not just the writers here on this site, but those who have been lost in your life or in tragic events recently.

Please remember that life is short and that you should love those in your life while you can and show you appreciation for whatever comes into your life.

Again, thanks to those who have lost their lives for spreading inspiration through their works.


	2. A Real Ninja

Chapter Two

A Real Ninja

Naruto was unsure of what to think when Itachi appeared at their table wearing that evil grin, informing them that he was to be their sensei. He still remembered when Itachi had given him that look of hatred not three days ago so he felt that he would be treated rather badly. He gulped when Itachi sat down next to a drooling Sakura, making Naruto want to bolt even more but was unable to due to Sasuke blocking him in. He could always break the window but he didn't have the money to pay for a replacement.

"You're seriously going to be our sensei Aniki?" Sasuke asked with wide eyes, unable to truly believe his brother on this point.

Itachi nodded his head. "Yes, I'll be Team 7's sensei so I ask that you be patient with me for this is my first time teaching a team of genin." Itachi informed as he gave them each a gentle smile, taking in the fact that Naruto was shivering in fear. 'Must be because of my ultimate glare a couple of days ago.' Itachi thought and sent Naruto an extra kind smile, but soon frowned as he realized that Naruto only flinched back.

Itachi would have to let it go at the time as he finally addressed the entire team, already knowing that the next batch of information would cause a stir. "Alright, before we go any further I would like to get to know my new team." Itachi said happily. "So let's start by introducing ourselves. My name is Itachi Uchiha; I like training, reading, practicing my Fire Jutsu, and learning to lead my clan; I hate those who don't give others a chance, abhor the villagers' worshiping the Uchiha like we're gods, and I hate tomatoes; my dream is to lead the Uchiha to become level headed and modest ninja." Itachi sent a smirk at his little brother who was glaring at him.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke started, still glaring at his brother, "I like tomatoes, training, and my family; I hate apples, messing up a ninjutsu, and waiting for my Aniki to get out of the shower." Sasuke smirked at this part while Itachi frowned at him. "My dream is to become a powerful ninja and earn my father's respect."

Itachi smiled at Sasuke's goal before turning to Sakura, who got the hint. "I'm Sakura Haruno; I like taking showers and brushing my hair, researching and reading, and…" She glanced at Sasuke and giggled. Itachi blanched as Sasuke's head hit the table. "I hate misstated information, deceptions of others, and the color orange." Sakura scowled at Naruto, who glared right back at her. "My dream is…" She glanced at Sasuke again and giggled. Itachi turned to see his brother hitting his head on the table while Itachi himself felt incredulousness well inside of him.

"Huh, alright, Uzumaki, go." Itachi said as he motioned for Naruto to quickly hurry, grimacing slightly when Naruto flinched at the hand movement, as simple as the gesture had been, he realized that Naruto would not take it lightly.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto started slowly as he watched Itachi warily. "My likes are ramen, Iruka-Sensei, and training." Naruto slowly got some enthusiasm the more he talked. "I hate the three minutes it takes for the ramen to cook, when Iruka-Sensei lectures me, and Uchihas." Naruto spat as he glared at Itachi while Itachi stayed blank faced, his mind wondering why the blonde would hate the Uchihas while Sakura glared at him for insulting not only her crush but her sensei while Sasuke looked insulted. "My dream is…OW!"

The group stared in horror as Naruto's hand began to bleed from out of nowhere, none of them, but Itachi, knew what had caused the injury. Itachi glared sharply at a ninja that was at a table just across from them. He was obviously a Jounin but not one he had worked with recently and from the hand sign he had just released revealed a low level wind jutsu. Itachi turned back towards Naruto who was trying to staunch the blood with several napkins. "Are you okay Naruto?" Itachi asked as he reached into his kunai pouch for bandages.

"I'm fine, don't worry, it'll stop." Naruto said quickly as he pressed firmly onto the back of his hand and hid his hand underneath the table. "Anyways my dream is to be the Hokage so all the villagers have to respect me." He finished his introduction while Itachi retracted his hand from his pouch, realizing that Naruto wasn't going to accept his help.

Sasuke frowned as he looked at his brother and then at Naruto, who still held the napkins tightly to his hand. "Dobe, you should get that bandaged." Sasuke stated as he reached for his own bandages in his kunai pouch. Itachi had told him it was better to be prepared than be surprised.

"I don't need help." Naruto snarled at Sasuke, scooting as far from the Uchiha as he possibly could. "Teme, just forget that it even happened." He growled as he turned back to Itachi. "Can we go or is there something else?" Naruto asked as he directed attention away from himself.

Sakura frowned as she realized that Naruto wasn't going to accept any help from anyone in the group. She wondered about that because she remembered seeing a foreign ninja once refuse help with a cut he had gotten from a thrown glass. Her father had explained later that the ninja hadn't trusted them from principal. He was from a different village and nation around Ninja that could want to kill him, he wasn't about to give them a chance by poisoning him from the wound. Naruto was acting just like that ninja, afraid and suspicious of even them.

Itachi knew a subject change when it was thrown in his face and so got back down to business, chuckling as Sasuke munched on his tomato, but soon returned to his emotionless expression. "There is more that I must tell you, for there is another part of the Genin Graduation exams that you don't know about."

The three wanna-be-Genin all stared at him in shock. Sasuke was the first one to snap back to reality as he opened his mouth. "What was the graduation exam at the academy for then Itachi? It couldn't have just been for the fun of it." Sasuke asked as he glared at his brother, wishing he could read his brother's mind and get all the answers.

Itachi nodded his head at his brother in agreement. "That's right; the exam at the academy is just to weed out those who have no chance at being genin in the first place. This next test will prove that you are worthy to be a ninja altogether. There is a 66% fail rate; only nine of you will graduate fully and move on to become ninja." Itachi explained as he looked at each child in front of him.

"No way." Naruto said as he stared wide eyed at his would be teacher. "There's no way I'm going back to the academy!" Naruto declared as he glared at Itachi. "Not after everything I've been through, I'm not giving up here!"

Itachi smirked at Naruto and looked at the other two as well. Sakura was now smiling confidently as she nodded her head. "I refuse to give up as well! There's no way I'm letting this chance get by me and I'm sure Ino-Pig will pass too! That just makes me want to pass even more."

Sasuke was smirking as he looked at his brother, arms crossed as his eyes glinted with confidence. "I know I'll pass no prob. It's only a matter of time before I do." Sasuke stated calmly.

Itachi smiled at each of his would be students, wondering if they could actually do this. "Alright, then let me leave you with something to think about before the final test tomorrow. What is a ninja?" Itachi asked before smirking. "Be at training field three tomorrow at six a.m." With that Itachi waved the waitress over and got the bill. "I'll pay for this as well." He soon left after he received the bill and would be Team 7 followed as well, leaving behind the BBQ restaurant.

Itachi Sensei

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Sakura yelled as she came home, her face set in a thoughtful expression as she slipped off her sandals.

Sounds from the kitchen told her that her mother was in the kitchen, most likely cooking dinner. "Ah Sakura, how was your meeting with your sensei?" Ren Haruno asked as she looked out, with the same emerald eyes as her daughter, into the hallway from the kitchen, her orange hair styled so her bangs were in a triangle formation in the middle of her forehead with the rest slick back to spike out at the bottom of her neck. She wore a dress like her daughters only in white, no sleeves, and the circle of their clan on the lip of the dress with three of them. She wore black kunoichi shorts like her daughter and Shinobi shoes.

Sakura smiled at her mom as she walked into the kitchen, getting a glass and filling it up with water. "It was okay, my Sensei is Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke-Kun's older brother." Sakura said and took a sip of her water.

Ren looked at her daughter with wide eyes. "Itachi Uchiha? He's the heir of his clan! He's going to be head of the Uchiha's after his father Sakura! That's a huge deal!"

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. "I know mom and I'm honored to have him as my Sensei too, but I still have the next part of my test." Sakura said glumly. "Did you know about that too?! About the test I have to take to fully become a ninja?" Sakura asked while she looked at her mom with a pout.

Ren laughed as she stirred the stew she was making, knowing that her daughter would not be pleased with her for not telling her about the next test. "Sorry honey, but it's a rule that a ninja shall not reveal anything about the tests to possible ninja." Ren explained softly as she looked at her daughter, Sakura now looking thoughtful again. "But I don't think that's all that's got you like you are, what are you thinking about?" She asked curiously.

Sakura shrugged as she gulped the rest of her water before setting the glass in the sink. "It's just something Itachi-Sensei said is all." Sakura said as she turned to leave the kitchen.

Ren frowned at that before she turned the burner on her stove down so she could get Sakura by the shoulder. "What did he say that has you so deep in thought Sakura, maybe I can help?" Ren said as she smiled down at her daughter. The Haruno Matriarch knew that her daughter was really bright but sometimes she tended to over think some things.

Sakura looked up at her mother with a thoughtful frown on her face. "He asked me what a ninja is, but I'm not quite sure what he wants me to say." Sakura stated as she looked up at her mother questioningly.

Ren smiled gently down at her daughter, knowing her daughter was thinking along the lines of a book definition but was confused because Itachi hadn't given any more than that simple question. "That is a tough question and it's something you need to think deeply on, but how about I give you a hint." Ren said as she bent down to be on eye level with Sakura. "Why did you want to become a ninja to begin with?" She winked with a smile and turned back to the stew.

Sakura blinked after her mother, wondering how that was going to help, but didn't say anything else on the subject. "I'm going up to my room." Sakura said and left her mother behind so she could think on the questions she had been given.

Ren smiled to herself as she tasted her stew. "Hideo, I think our daughter will be just fine." She said as a man with a slightly tinted pink hair that was spiked in the back in five different sections and wore a blue informal Kimono with one arm inside of his kimono instead of the sleeve.

"I think your right Ren." Hideo Haruno said with a smile, pale blue eyes sparkling with happiness as he limped over to his wife and hugged her from behind.

Itachi Sensei

"Sasuke, is that you honey?" Mikoto Uchiha asked as she came to the front hall to greet her son. "Welcome home." She said as she smiled at her youngest.

Sasuke smiled as he slipped his shoes off and walked over to her, pecking her on the cheek. "I'm home, hi mom." Sasuke said as he led his mother back to the kitchen. "Aniki and Father home?" Sasuke asked as he leapt up onto the kitchen counter, leaning against the wall as he watched his mother move around the kitchen, cooking dinner.

"Hm, yes, Itachi arrived a little before you did and he and Fugaku went to your father's office." Mikoto informed as she checked the rice before shaking her head and putting the lid on the rice cooker back. "I think Itachi is telling your father about his possible Genin team." Mikoto gasped as she turned around to look at her youngest. "I forgot to tell you Sasuke, Itachi is going to have his own Genin team! How exciting is that!?" Mikoto said as she held a wooden spoon in front of her as she brought her hands in front of her in excitement.

Sasuke smirked at her as he nodded his head. "I know mom, after all, Itachi is my Sensei." Sasuke told her as he watched her eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh my god! That's great Sasuke! Your brother can teach you everything now!" Mikoto exclaimed as she came to stand in front of Sasuke, grabbing his hands in her own and waving them up and down in her excitement. "You'll get to learn everything from one of the greatest Uchiha of our time and become just as strong…No!" She suddenly exclaimed with fire in her eyes, startling Sasuke. "No! You'll become even stronger than Itachi, Sasuke! I know you can!" Mikoto exclaimed as she smiled confidently at her son.

Sasuke blinked at her in surprise, not expecting that from his mother. "Sasuke can do it only if he continues to train as he has and actually becomes a ninja." Fugaku said as he entered the kitchen, sending a glare at his son that told him to get off the counter.

Sasuke quickly jumped down from the counter and bowed to his father. "Hello father, I'm home."

Fugaku nodded his head before turning back to his wife, who was squealing in front of an amused Itachi. "I can' believe it Itachi, you'll be Sasuke's sensei! This is great!" She said as she hugged her eldest.

Fugaku frowned at his wife, knowing that she could get excitable but she was going a little overboard at the moment. "Mikoto, Sasuke hasn't become a full ninja yet, do not get ahead of yourself." Fugaku didn't notice how Sasuke deflated at that and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked off.

Mikoto noticed that her youngest was no longer in the kitchen when she turned to look at her husband. She frowned as she realized that Sasuke had left after what his father had said. "Fugaku, how dare you have no trust in your son! You are supposed to say encouraging things to him, not discourage him!" Mikoto scolded as she slapped the man on the head with her wooden spoon.

Fugaku scowled at being hit but didn't reply as he walked out of the kitchen, following his son to the back yard where Sasuke was throwing kunai at the target there. Fugaku sat on the porch as he watched his son practice. "What do you think of your team?" Fugaku asked.

Sasuke scowled as his kunai was just off of the center as he hadn't expected his father to speak. Sasuke turned towards his father and adopted the emotionless face he had copied from Itachi, knowing that whenever Sasuke himself spoke to Fugaku, he normally left in disappointment. "My team is consisted of Uzumaki Naruto who has shown resourcefulness in the unlikeliest of places and Haruno Sakura that has the intelligence of a Jounin. They show potential once trained but until then I think they'll be dead weights." Sasuke admitted as he turned back towards the target, throwing shuriken.

Fugaku nodded his head, getting basically the same report, a bit more detailed, from Itachi. "I see. Do you believe they will impede you from becoming a ninja?"

Sasuke sighed as he realized that Fugaku wasn't going to leave him alone. "They could, but I don't have a choice in this." Sasuke said as he turned towards Fugaku. "The dobe was the clown of the Academy, he couldn't even make a simple clone and the rest of his scores are really low. He has no skill or talent in anything and his taijutsu is more of a drunken bar brawl style." Sasuke explained as he looked at his father as calmly as possible. "Sakura is highly intelligent and has almost beaten me at top scores on written essays. She is weak in body though and her chakra levels are obviously very low. She is useless in a physical fight."

Fugaku again nodded his head, enjoying the fact that Sasuke was blunt with his observations. Itachi had basically made it seem as if Sasuke's two teammates actually had potential but Fugaku had doubted his eldest's opinions. Sasuke spoke exactly what Fugaku thought but he wouldn't tell the boy that. "Do what you must to become a ninja Sasuke." Fugaku said as he stood up to go. "Even if it means doing something you don't like." With that the head of the Uchiha clan left his son to think on his words.

"Even if I don't like doing what I have to." Sasuke muttered as he threw another Shuriken, hitting dead center. "Is that what a ninja really is?"

Itachi Sensei

Naruto Uzumaki walked into his apartment, slipping his shoes off as he entered. "I'm home." He said but didn't get an answer, not that he expected one. He walked into his kitchen and saw that there were ramen cups strewn all over the floor from overflowing the trashcan and what little dishes he had were resting in the sink, still dirty. The floor was dirty as well and the walls were cracked and some of the ceiling was missing.

His living room had nothing but a small table missing a leg that was replaced with books and his seats were just pillows littering the floor. He even had a bunch of pillows set up in a corner as a makeshift bed when he couldn't get comfortable on his bed in his room or it was too hot to stay in a small bedroom.

His bathroom was disgusting and only cold water available. The shower was covered in dirt and grime, his toilet was yellow and spotted in brown, and his sink was the same.

The bedroom was in no better shape as the rest of the rooms, but the difference being that it actually had a bed, a lumpy and hard one but a bed none the less, a dresser that had some drawers missing and a simple closet filled with a few pieces of clothes.

Naruto sighed as he discarded his jacket on the bed and then walked over to his kitchen, grabbing a glass of water before heading to his make shift bed in the corner of his living room, sprawling across it while keeping his water from spilling. "Freaking Uchihas, I'm getting really tired of them." Naruto muttered as he sipped his water and then glanced at his hand that now had not even a scar. "Stupid villagers while I'm at it too." He muttered, setting his glass on the floor and rolling onto his back, looking at a crack in his ceiling that was slowly widening and would most likely be a hole soon.

"What makes a ninja huh?" Naruto questioned to himself, putting his hands behind his head as he tried to figure out what Itachi had been asking. "What makes a ninja? Gah!" Naruto rubbed at his head furiously as he thought about it. "How the hell am I supposed to know!?" Naruto shouted, grabbing hold of his headband and yanking it off of his head so he could stare at it. "What could possibly make a ninja?" He asked himself again as he stared at the leaf insignia on his headband.

"The old man said something about it once I think." Naruto said as he thought back. "Something about ninja of the village having the will of…of…something." Naruto grumbled as he tried to remember what it was the old man had been talking about it. "Something important though, he said it made up the ninja of the village, that it helped them decide to protect the village." Naruto kept on saying to himself as he rolled back onto his stomach, tucking his hands underneath his chin as he looked at his glass of water.

"_Remember Naruto, the Will of Fire allows a ninja to decide on whether to truly protect what they consider precious. It is what makes a ninja a ninja in the end after all." _

Naruto nodded his head absently as he remembered what the old man said. "So the Will of Fire huh? Is that what really makes a ninja or is there something more to it?" Naruto asked himself as he allowed himself to close his eyes and slip off to sleep.

Itachi Sensei

"Good morning." Sakura yawned as she walked onto field three, waving at her two teammates as she did. "Man, I haven't been up this early in a long time." Sakura stated as she leaned against one of the three poles on the training field.

Naruto just shrugged as he sat on top of his own wooden pole, legs crossed Indian style and his hands on his crossed ankles. "This is nothing; you should try staying up for several days in a row though, that's insane!" Naruto exclaimed as he sent a smile at Sakura. "But I'm sure we'll get to do that eventually when we pass this test." Naruto stated as he tilted his head slightly in thought.

Sakura scowled at Naruto tiredly. "Shut up Naruto, you shouldn't be so loud. How are you even this energetic this early in the morning?" She asked as she covered another yawn at the end of her question.

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders. Sasuke scoffed from where he was leaning against the third and final pole, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Idiots don't get tired, I thought you knew that Sakura." He said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted in indignation. "I'm not an idiot!" Naruto defended himself as he glared at Sasuke.

"Then why couldn't you pass a simple multiplication test or reading test in the academy?" Sasuke questioned with that smirk still in place.

Naruto scowled as his glare intensified, but it had no effect on Sasuke since the boy lived with Uchihas who could give out worse. "Yeah, why is it you seem to fail every test in the academy but were able to pass the graduation exam?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto with curiosity.

Naruto shrugged again. "I found all the stuff in the academy boring and to tell the truth, I failed the original academy exam but because we realized what my problem was with the entire bunshin thing, we found a way to help me pass. I have way too much chakra for something so simple." Naruto explained as he looked over towards the front of the training field. "Hey Teme, Teme-Sensei is here." Naruto informed, getting a scowl from Sasuke and while Sakura knocked him off of the pole with a punch.

"Quit being so rude to our Sensei you idiot! He's going to be the deciding factor of whether or not we become actual ninja!" Sakura shouted at him.

Naruto whined as he rubbed his head and Sasuke just scowled at the pair of them as if he wanted to kill the two of them right there but reframed just barely. This is what Itachi walked onto with a frown on his face. "Good morning Team 7, are you ready for the next part of your test and the final one?" Itachi asked as he looked between the three, eyes completely serious and face blank. The three genin nodded their heads and Itachi turned towards Sakura first. "Tell me what you think a ninja is then Sakura?"

Sakura nodded her head as she thought about the answer she had come up with last night with the help of her mother's hint. "I originally wanted to become a ninja to make myself stronger, and even though I've kinda wondered from that since I started at the academy, that's what I still want to do." Sakura started explaining as she looked Itachi with determined eyes. "Ninja are human beings who want to become stronger and accomplish their goals." She answered in the end.

Itachi nodded his head, but didn't give anything else away. "Alright, Sasuke, What is a ninja?"

Sasuke frown deepened as he thought back to last night with his father, already knowing what his answer would be from that encounter. "A ninja is someone who will do anything, even if they don't like it, to keep their village safe and accomplish missions no matter what." Sasuke said with his face neutral of all emotion.

Itachi once again nodded his head, his own face neutral of any emotion. "Naruto, what is a ninja?" Itachi asked the final member of the team.

Naruto stared up at Itachi with narrowed eyes from his place on the ground, not having stood back up after Sakura had hit him. "A ninja is…" He was silent for a moment before he decided he'd go with what he had thought of last night. "A ninja is someone with the Will of Fire," Itachi's eyes flickered too fast for anyone to notice at that but said nothing, "and will do everything in their power to protect not only their precious ones but those who are weaker than them." Naruto paused again as a frown crossed his face and he looked down at the ground. "I think there's more to it but I can't tell you exactly what that might be." Naruto admitted, gliding his hands through the grass on the field.

Itachi nodded his head. "All are good answers but are all still just a scratch on the surface to the deeper meaning of being a ninja. Though Naruto seems to understand a little more than the two of you." Itachi admitted, causing Naruto to look up at him in surprise as well as the other two.

"Naruto is actually ahead of us? The dead last of our class?" Sakura asked incredulously. Sasuke only to nod his head at those questions as he looked just as stunned. Naruto was unable to look away from Itachi, both astonishment and suspicion glinting in his eyes while his mouth hung open.

"Alright, let's begin the next part of the Genin test." Itachi said as he looked at each possible genin. "This test will be of many things in one, but the best description I can give you is a survival test." Itachi started as he pulled out a clock from nowhere. "This test will last until noon, which gives you roughly six hours to accomplish." Itachi stated.

Sakura nodded her head in understanding. "So what exactly are we supposed to do though?" She asked smartly.

Itachi smiled at her as he reached into his belt and pulled out a simple scroll with a black outing and the kanji for fire on it. "This is your objection, get this scroll from me. The one that gets this from me will continue on to be a ninja while the other two will be sent back to the academy for further study." Itachi explained. "If you want it you'll have to come at me with everything you've got, no holding back."

Sasuke frowned at that since he knew that he had no chance at beating his brother, even if Sasuke went all out while Itachi held back. Itachi was just too strong for him to beat… Sasuke smirked as he realized that he didn't need to beat Itachi, just grab the scroll.

Sakura was frowning as she realized the same as Sasuke, only she doubted she could ever even lay a finger on the scroll, she wasn't fast nor strong enough. Itachi would stop her whenever she got anywhere near him to begin with.

Naruto just scowled at the scroll, hating that he knew that the Uchiha was too strong for him to beat on his own…he blinked as he realized something very important and he was about to voice it but was interrupted when Itachi smirked at him and said a simple word. "Start." With that Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into the bushes to gain cover.

Naruto glared at Itachi as he realized something else important. "You did that on purpose!" He accused as he stood up from the ground, pointing a finger at the Uchiha.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but I think that you realized something about this test that the other two didn't and I didn't want this test to end that fast." Itachi stated as he slipped the scroll into his kunai pouch.

Naruto glared at the other as he made a cross hand sign, creating over twenty clones that instantly swarmed Itachi. "Don't think we'll let you get away with that." The Narutos shouted at him.

Itachi only chuckled as he began to easily dismiss the shadow clones, dispensing them quickly and was soon left in the middle of the field alone. "Huh, I guess he knew he stood no chance." Itachi said to himself as he walked over to the poles and sat on top of one, waiting for the first attack.

Sasuke sat in the trees watching his brother, knowing that Itachi was just patiently waiting for one of them to attack. "There has to be some way of getting that damn scroll." Sasuke muttered under his breath, looking up at the sky to see that an hour had passed already. "I need a plan." Sasuke muttered as he went through all of his techniques he had.

Sakura already knew there was no way she was going to pass this test, it was much too tough. 'There's no way any of us could take on a Jounin on our own, let alone a prodigy from the Uchiha clan.' Sakura thought as she bit her lip in thought. 'So how are we supposed to get that scroll on our own?' Sakura's eyes widened as a hand wrapped around her face, covering her mouth and stopping her from screaming.

Sasuke snarled when he felt a tug on the back of his shirt, dragging him to the ground and into the bushes where he was met with three Narutos and Sakura, who was staring terrified as a hand still covered her mouth. "What do you think you're doing dobe?" Sasuke hissed at the blonde haired boy.

"Teme, shut up." Naruto said as he turned to Sakura. "You need to stay quiet so I'm going to have my clone let you go, alright, so don't yell or scream." Naruto said. Sakura nodded her head and once Naruto's clone released her, she punched it in the stomach, dispelling it. "Hey, don't do that!" Naruto whispered yelled at her, rubbing at his own stomach.

"Then don't grab me from behind like you did! I was just about to freak out!" Sakura whispered yelled right back.

Sasuke snarled at the two of them before he focused on Naruto. "Why did you drag us here? I was just about to attack Itachi." He said, glaring at the blonde heatedly for interfering in his plan.

Naruto frowned as he remembered why he had grabbed the two of them. "Are you an idiot?" Naruto shot at Sasuke, surprising the two for a split second.

Sasuke scoffed as he stuck his nose in the air. "I think we know who the real idiot is." Sasuke said as he sent a smirk at Naruto, but frowned when the blonde ignored the jib and continued to scowl at him.

"Then why do you think a frontal attack on him will work?" Naruto asked, referring to Itachi. "Not only is he a Jounin, he's an Uchiha and from what I've heard, a prodigy in the Uchiha Clan. There's no way an attack as obvious as a full on front attack will work." Naruto said as he shook his head. "We need a plan and we need to work together to get anywhere."

Sasuke snarled at Naruto as he remembered what his father had told him the other night, that he needed to do anything to become a ninja even if he didn't like it. At this point Sasuke was convinced that he didn't need the other two and could do this on his own. "I don't need two weaklings to help me get that scroll; I can get it on my own." Sasuke stated as he went to stand up, only to have two Naruto clones on him that held him in place.

"You're an idiot if you think you can take on a fully matured Uchiha!" Naruto spat as he came to stand in front of Sasuke. "A Jounin with bucket loads of experience are dangerous, but then turn that Jounin into an Uchiha with a Sharingan and you've got a crap turnout for your own life!" Naruto continued as he stared at Sasuke with angered sapphire eyes. "Unless you are a highly skilled Jounin that trained against the Sharingan or an Uchiha with a Sharingan, then you stand no chance against Itachi Uchiha, said prodigy of said clan that's supposed to be powerful." Naruto spat. "So are you trained against the Sharingan or do you have it?" Naruto asked as he suddenly became eerily calm.

Sasuke scowled as he took in what Naruto had said before he finally shook his head. "Fine, you're actually right for once dobe." Sasuke spat as he pulled his arms out of the clones' hold. "As surprising as that is."

Naruto scowled at that but before he could say anything else Sakura butted in. "Then what do we do? How do we get the scroll and who'll get it after we do?" Sakura asked as she stared at the two.

"It doesn't matter if we get the scroll or not." Naruto instantly said.

"I get the scroll." Sasuke said at the same time Naruto spoke.

The two turned to each other and glared. "What do you mean the scroll doesn't matter Dobe?" Sasuke asked, wishing he had the Sharingan so he could use it as an intimidation tactic.

"I was going to say something before he said start, but I don't think the objective is the scroll." Naruto said with a growl, not forgetting that Sasuke would leave them behind just so he could move ahead. "He basically stopped me from pointing it out from the beginning; the scroll is just a tactic to divide us."

Sakura's eyes widened in realization just as did Sasuke's. "We're supposed to work as a team." They said at the same time, looking at Naruto in surprise.

"How in the world did you figure that out?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto curiously. "You were the dead last in our class and practically useless in everything else, how did you catch something like this from the beginning?" She asked, hoping it was just dumb luck that he had seen the real objective of the test.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked at her before sighing as he looked at the ground. "He's an Uchiha with a lot of skill from the way you guys talk about him and how others worship him when he walks on the street, so I knew I had no chance of beating him by myself let alone laying a finger on that scroll." Naruto explained. "Uchihas are exceedingly strong ninja on principal and with the Sharingan they can see just about anything coming at them and then also copy other Ninjutsu." Naruto explained. "The only things I've heard about even defeating a Sharingan wielder is to either be faster, stronger, or have a lot of people surround them. Otherwise you'll lose just because they can predict any move an enemy ninja can make."

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, already knowing that Uchiha children were put through rigorous training just to stay faster than those in the academy and stronger as well. It was all preparation of getting their Sharingan. "He's right, there's no way that a single average ninja can beat a Sharingan user, let alone a genin." Sasuke stated as he crouched down from the Clones holds so he could think. "That means that this is exactly what Naruto said, we need to work as a team." Sasuke said grudgingly as he looked up at the other two.

Sakura nodded as she came forward to crouch in front of Sasuke. "So how are we going to do this then? I mean there has to be a way we can get at that scroll." Sakura said with a frown on her face.

Naruto crouched as well, his clones going off to keep watch for them; he stared at the two as a thought came to mind. "I can make shadow clones, clones that are actually solid. What if we use that somehow?" He threw in.

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement as a plan began to outline in his mind. He looked up into the sky and checked the sun's position. "Alright, two hours have passed since this test has started, we have four hours to do this and this is how we're going to do so." Sasuke said as he began to detail his plan to the other two quietly listening genin.

Itachi Sensei

A.N. Oh boy, this is really getting started ain't! I wonder why Naruto seems to actually be thinking at this point, eh, we'll find out later I guess. *Smirks* Anyways the next part is going to be the plan and then Genin training and missions too! Do not expect Itachi to be like Kakashi-Sensei in the series. This is way different than that!

Next up: Team Collaboration and Training!


	3. Team Mechanics

Chapter Three

Team Mechanics

Itachi frowned as he looked up at the timer he had brought, reading the time that the team had left. They had little over than an hour and they had yet to do anything at all. The only one who had attacked him was Naruto and Itachi believed that the blonde had done that just to get away.

He smirked as he realized that the blonde must've gone to the other two with his realization that he had at the start of the test. 'Who ever said that boy was stupid never went up against him in a fight.' Itachi thought as he began walking towards the trees where he sensed three bodies moving around sporadically, purposely allowing themselves to be felt so Itachi knew that they had set up traps that way and were now just luring him in.

What he hadn't expected was that as soon as he entered the forest was that four clones, two of Naruto and one of Sasuke and Sakura, jumped out at him. Itachi dodged the Naruto clones while he ignored the Sasuke and Sakura ones, already knowing that they were normal bunshin clones.

At least that's what he thought until the Sasuke clone landed a hit on his back that sent him stumbling. Itachi looked at the clone before activating his Sharingan and smirked at the ingenious plan. "So you had some of your clones transform into Sasuke and Sakura. Clever. But not clever enough." Itachi said as he pulled out several kunai and shuriken, throwing them at the clones, frowning when all of them dispelled except for the Sakura one, which simply disappeared. "A real bunshin to confuse." Itachi muttered, realizing he hadn't even looked at the Sakura clone with his Sharingan.

"This isn't over until the Akamichi sing." A voice announced and Itachi looked up into the tree branches, catching sight of Naruto, who was trembling lightly as he glared at Itachi. "Just because we haven't done anything yet doesn't mean we've given up." Naruto told him.

Itachi smiled as he nodded his head. "I know and I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeves Uzumaki." Itachi told him as his Sharingan swirled in anticipation.

Naruto frowned before he got a sneer on his face. "Heh, that's what your mom said last night." He taunted and then inwardly yelled at himself. 'He went all evil on me the other day when he found out I insulted his and Sasuke's mom, but for me to say that to his face, I'm screwed.' Naruto thought as he narrowly dodged a kunai that would've gone through his throat.

He jumped to a tree branch only to panic as Itachi landed in front of him with a glare so fierce that it had Naruto's instincts yelling at him to run and never stop. "You should know never to insult a ninja or their family unless you can defeat your opponent." Itachi told him as he swiftly jabbed out at Naruto with a right hook that sent the blonde flying. "Ah, it's you."

Naruto grimaced as he stood up from where he landed, grimacing even more as he saw the skid mark from where he originally hit the ground. 'Oh man, Sasuke is trying to get me killed.' Naruto thought as he created Shadow Clones and began to run away, becoming terrified when he heard all of them poof out of existence within seconds and he knew Itachi was right behind him. 'Just a few more feet.' Naruto thought as he literally dove for the bush in front of him to get away from the devil behind him.

"I don't think so." Itachi said as he grabbed hold of Naruto's leg and threw him away from the bush, approaching the blonde with a sinister smirk on his face. "Now I think it's time I instilled some manners in you Uzumaki." Itachi said as he twirled a Kunai around his finger. "After all, one does not insult one's mother without repercussions." He explained.

Naruto gulped as he created the cross and threw a batch of clones at Itachi, quickly escaping while he could towards the bush that had been planned. "Man Sasuke, your brother is scary." Naruto said as he came to crouch next to Sasuke, watching as Itachi finished off the rest of his clones. "Are we going to start now?"

Sasuke nodded his head as he sent a Kunai flying up into the air, hitting a branch of a tree above them. "Sakura will get this started, remember to try and not look in his eyes, he might trap you in a genjutsu." Sasuke warned just as several traps went off around Itachi.

Itachi's eyes widened as kunai flew straight at him, more than he thought he could dodge safely so he quickly body switched with a log, allowing it to take the kunai full on. 'That would've killed me if I was a Chuunin.' Itachi thought as he looked around, Sharingan spinning as he took in the figures that surrounded him. 'He created almost as many clones as he did against Mizuki.'

Itachi frowned when he felt heat appear on his back, quickly leaping to the side to avoid the fireball shot at him. 'Sasuke isn't going to mess around either I see.' Itachi said before he frowned, a feeling of nausea washing over him. 'Genjutsu. Academy level.' Itachi quickly dispelled it as soon as it had settled over him. "You'll have to do better than that." Itachi said as he body switched with a log again, avoiding all of the kunai and shuriken from the Naruto clones, but having to quickly dodge another attempt at the Giant Fireball Jutsu that Uchiha's were known for again.

"Don't think we planned to lose." Sasuke stated as he came out into the open, wielding a kunai at the ready and a smirk on his lips.

"He's right, we're not about to lose." Naruto said as all of his clones appeared only a moment later, all of them smiling as well.

"We aren't backing down in the face of adversary, no matter what!" Sakura announced as she happily cut a wire that set a trap off.

Itachi frowned as he prepared for whatever came his way, only to be surprised when a sheet propelled him into the air and caught him and held him there while the ropes attached to the sheet tightened when taking on the full weight of the adult Uchiha. 'They got me with such a simple trap.' Itachi said but then yelped when he felt several hands latch onto him through the sheet and then a hole appear approximately where his pouch was. A small hand reached through and grabbed his entire kunai pouch before disappearing. Itachi couldn't help but smile at that.

A ring went off within his vest, signifying that time was up. "Alright." Itachi said as he easily escaped from the tarp by cutting through it and landing on the ground while he stared at the three genin, Sakura holding onto his pouch. "It looks like Sakura is the genin that will stay while the two of you," Itachi pointed at Sasuke and Naruto, "will go back to the academy for remedial study until next year."

Sakura shook her head as she handed it towards Naruto who stared at her in astonishment. "No, Naruto realized what this was all about; I think Naruto should be the one to stay as a ninja." She said as she handed smiled at the blonde.

Naruto gulped as his grip tightened on the pouch before he shook his head. "No, Sakura and Sasuke should stay. They came up with the plan; one of them should stay if any of us." Naruto admitted as he held the pouch back towards the two other genin.

Sasuke sighed as he took the pouch from Naruto, getting stunned looks from his teammates. "None of us will take it so we'll all go back to the academy together, then we'll try again next year with better odds for all of us to pass." Sasuke stated as he turned to leave, motioning for the other two to follow him.

Itachi smiled at the three as all three moved to leave. "Don't think you're leaving just yet." Itachi said as he walked forward and stopped in front of the three with a proud smile on his face. "You all pass, you are officially Team 7." Itachi stated.

All three genin smile while Naruto threw up his arms in happiness and Sakura squealed in excitement. Sasuke just smirked and nodded his head while he looked at his brother in his own happiness. "Is this because of the Teamwork then?" Sasuke asked as he glanced over to Naruto who was still cheering.

Itachi nodded his head. "That's right. Konoha is the village that relies on teamwork more than anything else. That's why every genin squad is comprised of three genin and a Jounin sensei. This will teach you to rely on others for help when in need and to work on a team later on in your careers too." Itachi explained. "You three understood this even though it seemed that Naruto had to drag you into it there at the beginning." Itachi said as he sent them a knowing look, causing Naruto to become smug and the other two scowling at him. "Either way, report to field three tomorrow at eight and we'll begin your first training session as genin." Itachi said as he disappeared, leaving behind brand knew celebrating genin.

Itachi Sensei

"So, any idea what your bother is going to teach us today Teme?" Naruto asked as he sprawled out across the ground of the training field, his jacket tied around his waist instead him wearing it properly; his headband was around his neck as well.

Sasuke scowled at the name but answered the question anyways. "No I don't. Whatever Itachi is going to teach us is something he wants to tell us all. He didn't tell me what we're doing today anyways." Sasuke stated as he crossed his arms, leaning against one of the poles again.

Sakura blinked at that in surprise, unsure of what to think of that. "But isn't he your brother? Don't siblings normally tell each other everything?" She asked, she didn't have one of her own and so was unsure of what dynamics siblings would have.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders at that. "I guess some are like that but not all, especially not me and my brother. Itachi likes to keep things from me to surprise me or to see if I can figure it out. Don't expect me to get any special treatment just because he's my brother, if anything, I'll have a harder time because of that." Sasuke stated with a scowl and a glare at a nearby tree.

Naruto sat up and stared at Sasuke with his head tilted; getting the raven's attention from the way the blonde was staring at him so intently. Sakura saw this as well and her own head tilted in curiosity at what the blonde wanted to say. "What is it Naruto?" Sakura asked realizing that Sasuke wouldn't be able to take much more staring.

Naruto slowly looked at her before returning his sight back onto Sasuke. "I always thought family was supposed to help each other, but from the way Sasuke explained, it seems like you've just been left to fend for yourself." Naruto explained his thoughts as he looked at the Uchiha in confusion. "Isn't family supposed to always have each other's best interests in mind?" He asked.

"That we do." Naruto jumped and yelped at the voice that spoke behind him. The blonde leaned backwards to stare at Itachi as the Uchiha looked down at him. "But sometimes it's better to allow them to learn for themselves or experience something that is needed to understand something." Itachi said with a small smile sent towards his little brother. "Complaining about me little brother?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke huffed and shook his head as he turned away from the elder Uchiha. Sakura spoke for her crush with a small smile on her face. "No Itachi-Sensei, he was just telling us that he wasn't going to get any special treatment, he even said he'd have to work harder than us." Sakura said in explanation.

Itachi frowned at that as he turned to his brother. "In truth Sasuke will be expected to act and improve just the same as the two of you. Yes, I'll expect a little more from him because I already know what he can do, but I will treat him like any other genin." Itachi assured the group before he gave each a small encouraging smile. "Alright, I said I'd start training you like real genin today, so let's get started. Follow me cause we're going to need a few trees for this training session." Itachi informed them.

The three new genin followed him into the forest, each wondering what they were going to learn. "So Itachi-Sensei, what is it that you're going to teach us?" Sakura asked as they came to stop in front of a group of trees.

Itachi turned to them and pulled out three kunai, throwing them so they landed in front of the genins' feet. "What I'm going to teach you is how to climb a tree." He said as he turned to one of the trees, ignoring the incredulous looks on the kids' faces. He gathered chakra into his feet and quickly began walking up the tree with no hands and only stopped as he came to the first branch, quickly jumping onto it so he could stand up right instead of vertically.

All three genin were staring up at him in shock, but it was Sakura who snapped back into reality, ready to learn something new already. "How did you do that!?" She asked as she picked up the kunai in front of her.

Itachi smiled at the enthusiasm that Sakura showed, already knowing that the girl would be a great student with her eagerness to learn. "I used chakra at the bottom of my feet. To do so all you have to do is concentrate on gathering chakra at the bottom of your feet so you stick to the tree, be warned though, if you use too much chakra you'll be blasted off of the tree while if you use too little you won't stick." Itachi explained with a strict look. "This will improve your chakra control since you have to use a specific amount to stay on the tree to begin with. Now start, this is what you will be doing for today. Use the Kunai to mark your progress." Itachi said and sat on the branch he was on to watch the genin.

Naruto was still rather weary around Itachi, but the Uchiha was determined to fix that someway somehow, so it wasn't a surprise that Naruto instead pulled his own Kunai to use. From there he picked a tree farthest from Itachi and brought his hands to concentrate chakra into his feet and try for the first time.

Sasuke picked up not only the Kunai Itachi had landed in front of him but also the one that was meant for Naruto before he picked a tree as well. He began to concentrate as well, preparing to take a running start at the tree.

Itachi looked towards Sakura, only to blink in surprise. Sakura wasn't on the ground in front of a tree like he had suspected. He looked around until the sound of a surprised yelp caught his attention. Naruto was lying flat on his back on the ground, eyes shut as he shook off the pain from his meeting with the ground.

A blast and the sound of feet hitting the ground and then sliding a few feet was next and Itachi knew that Sasuke had used too much chakra and so had blasted himself off of the tree. Itachi smirked at his brother before he turned to look for Sakura again, only to look up from a giggle up in the trees. He blinked at Sakura a good twenty feet up in a tree, sitting on a branch with a wide grin on her face.

"Well, looks like the girl of the group has definitely done better than the two of you." Itachi said as he turned back towards Sasuke and Naruto, both of who were staring- glaring in Sasuke's case- up at Sakura. "Sakura, come on down, I'll train you in Taijutsu since it was obvious you have Chakra control down already." Itachi said as he jumped down to the ground, Sakura landing next to him only a few seconds later. "You two keep going until you reach the top, I'll come and check on you in a little bit." Itachi said as he led Sakura away from the two boys.

Naruto watched with furrow brows as Sakura was led away, his mind working full time to try and figure out how the girl had been able to get so far up with little trouble. He turned towards Sasuke to see if he could ask him on his thoughts but was just in time to see the Uchiha race at the tree again, climbing for a few feet before he lost his grip and hit the ground again. Naruto glared at the place Sasuke had been able to get to before looking at his own. 'Come on Uzumaki, you can do this.' Naruto thought to himself before pulling his jacket from his waist and throwing it aside and out of the way, concentrating on his chakra afterwards.

He ran at the tree in tandem with Sasuke, who had taken off for another try. The sound of feet running up a tree was heard for the rest of the day.

Itachi Sensei

"Tell me Sakura, what do you think of Sasuke and Naruto so far?" Itachi asked as he blocked a kick from the girl. "Put more force behind your kick and more speed afterwards. If you kick any slower you'll be grabbed and gain a broken ankle or leg." Itachi informed her.

Sakura nodded her head at this as she thought about the question posed to her. "I can't really say yet, I've only been on a team with them one day, but I can tell you that Sasuke is still the strongest out of the three of us." Sakura said while she ducked a punch to the face and tried to sweep his feet out from under him.

Itachi nodded his head as he jumped over the sweep and kicked out at her from the air, getting her in the face and sending her flying across the ground. "After a sweep you have to get out of the way no matter what. The enemy could easily retaliate from the air." Itachi stated as he landed and waited for her to stand back up. "I already knew Sasuke was the strongest out of the three of you, but he has less chakra and endurance than Naruto and lacks strategic thinking and knowledge of certain things unlike you. You and Naruto are one extreme of two while Sasuke has a balance of both. We'll fix that soon don't worry." Itachi explained at the depressed look on Sakura's face.

"So I'm smarter than Sasuke but weaker than both him and Naruto." Sakura stated with glum. "I'm the weakest on the team!" She exclaimed in frustration as this fact finally slammed into her.

Itachi nodded his head. "Correct, you are the weakest out of the three in terms of physical strength, there's no denying that." Itachi stated bluntly. "But I'll make you stronger as long as you follow my training regime and listen to my advice." Itachi said as he came to crouch in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Have trust that you will get stronger under my guidance." Itachi said as he helped her stand back up on her two feet.

Sakura smiled at him before nodding her head. "Alright, then teach me everything you know Itachi Sensei!" Sakura said as she got back into a fighting stance, a new look of determination filling her eyes as she prepared for another round of Taijutsu.

Itachi smiled at that before he got down and attacked her again, fixing her form and bettering it as they continued on their spar. Soon Sakura was panting heavily as she forced her body to stand back up, eyes glimmering with stubborn determination, until she would not give up until she could no longer move, ignoring the sweat that fell down her face in torrents.

Itachi smiled at her determination but knew that if they went any further than she would collapse and most likely pass out. "Alright Sakura, take a break, you did well for a start." Itachi informed her, chuckling when she fell to her knees, breathing deeply as she gulped in air. "I'm going to check on the boys, get a drink of water and cool off, don't forget to do the stretches I showed you earlier." Itachi said as he walked off back towards the trees where the sound of a yell of pain echoed.

Itachi blinked at that before jumping up into the trees to hurry to his brother and blonde, his mind running a mile a minute as he realized how stupid it was to leave the two out there by themselves instead of somewhere he could get to them easily.

"You alright dobe?" That was Sasuke's voice. Itachi came to a stop on a branch and looked down at what he found, frowning when he saw Naruto holding one of his legs close to his body and glaring at Sasuke as the raven tried to get the blonde to let him see the leg.

"I'm fine Teme, now get away." Naruto said as he turned his body away from the raven, inspecting the ankle himself. Itachi frowned at how the ankle was already swelled up and a nasty purple color.

Sasuke scowled at the blonde as he walked around so he was facing the blonde again, frowning when he caught sight of the ankle. "That is not okay Dobe, you could have broken it." Sasuke stated as he knelt down and reached for the ankle, only to have to avoid a fist to the face. "What the heck dobe!?"

"I said I'm fine! I don't need your help Uchiha!" Naruto scowled again as he covered his ankle and brought it towards his body again, glaring with hatred at Sasuke. "Now go away!" Naruto yelled as he once again turned away from the raven.

Sasuke huffed as he finally turned away from the blonde and back to his tree and running up it again. Itachi watched Sasuke for a second before turning to Naruto who was gingerly probing his ankle, but it was obvious that he wasn't very good at it. With a sigh Itachi jumped down and landed in front of Naruto, startling the blonde enough that he released his ankle and yelped in surprise.

Itachi took that time to grab the injured ankle and check it, keeping a firm hold on it as Naruto tried to kick out at him and pull his leg back. Itachi felt along it for several moments before nodding in approval. "You didn't break it, but you rolled it pretty badly." Itachi informed, slipping the sandal off of the boy's foot and pulling bandages from his pouch and began to wrap the ankle. "You should stay off of it for a week to let it heal." Itachi informed the blonde, still having to hold onto the foot firmly so the boy didn't get away.

"Let me go, I don't need your help." Naruto snarled as he tried to tug his foot back, but failed. "I don't need your help or anyone else's! Besides, you're only supposed to train me not care about me!" Naruto snarled as he once again tried to yank his foot back but grimaced when Itachi put pressure on it to still him.

Once Itachi was sure the boy would be quiet and listen to him. "I understand that you've had a rather hard life…"  
"You don't know anything!" Naruto snapped but quieted at the glare Itachi gave him.

"But don't think I'm going to ignore you just because of what you hold." Itachi quietly said, ignoring how the boy stiffened at that. He finished wrapping the ankle but didn't let it go. "I'm your Sensei now Naruto, I'm not going to just abandon you just because of something you couldn't control." Itachi said as he looked up and locked eyes with the sapphire orbs of his student, seeing the suspicion there and the wariness that a child Naruto's age shouldn't have. "How can I get you to see that?" Itachi asked.

Naruto was quiet as he tugged on his ankle again, this time he was able to get it back and he laid it in front of him while he bent the other one so he could put his hands on his uninjured ankle, eyes staring intently at Itachi, never leaving the calm onyx eyes of his new Sensei. "You want to know how you can get me to trust you." Naruto said as he leant forward a little. "Then prove you are nothing like the rest of the Uchihas I've met." With that Naruto stood up and limped away from Itachi, grabbing his jacket on the way.

Itachi frowned at that but knew that he was missing something rather important. Something had happened between Naruto and some of the Uchiha, but for the life of him he couldn't tell what it was. "Aniki, what's wrong with the dobe?" Itachi looked up at his little brother, knowing the younger raven was curious about the blonde as well. "The venom he holds towards the Uchiha clan, what's going on there?"

Itachi sighed as he ran a hand over his face before standing up and turning towards Sasuke. "To tell you the truth, I have no idea." Itachi informed him, hands on his hips as he looked towards the area that Naruto had disappeared to, Itachi noticing that it was heading towards the poles and Sakura. "But I'll figure it out so we can help him." Itachi informed him and ruffled his hair.

Sasuke scowled at him before huffing and turning back towards the tree, running straight at it and running up twenty feet and marking his progress. "Good job Sasuke, you're as far as Sakura. Go and join the other two, it's getting late and I think its times to head out." Itachi told his little brother. "We'll continue tomorrow and once Naruto reaches about the same place I'll teach you guys another Chakra control exercise." Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded his head as he returned the kunai to his pouch and followed his brother back to the training field where he found Naruto sparing with Sakura. The girl looked frustrated since it looked like Naruto wasn't letting her get near enough to do any damage. Naruto meanwhile wasn't moving from his spot, knocking Sakura away from him with strong flips, making Sakura spin in the air when she tried to kick or punch him.

Itachi frowned as he intervened a kick from Sakura while Naruto scowled at him. "I told you Naruto that you need to rest that ankle for at least a week! You're going to injure yourself even worse than you already have." Itachi scolded while Naruto glared at him.

"I wasn't moving, besides, Sakura asked for help in landing a hit on an opponent." Naruto retorted as he limped away from Itachi, but stopped from a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't care Naruto; you are to rest until that ankle is healed. That's final." Itachi said and his frown became more pronounce when Naruto shrugged his hand off.

"Don't tell me what to do." With that Naruto walked off towards the poles where he flopped down in front one of the wooden poles.

Itachi's frown deepened as he watched the blonde for several moments before turning towards the other two. "You guys have done well today and tomorrow we'll continue. At the end of the week I'll request for your first mission." Itachi informed them, getting smiles from the two in front of him.

"That's great!" Sakura exclaimed as she smiled at her sensei but then her smile disappeared and a frown replaced it. "What's wrong with Naruto though? What's wrong with his ankle?" She asked as she looked around Itachi to see Naruto dozing a little against the pole he had flopped in front of.

Itachi sighed as he ran his hand across his face, already telling that it would become a habit whenever Naruto was involved. "He sprained his ankle is all; he should be fine within the week." Itachi informed her, but noticed the frown on her face was more pronounced.

"He was injured and yet I still wasn't able to move him." Sakura mumbled depressingly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes when he heard this. "Stop moping Sakura, if you're so upset about it than just train harder." Sasuke said as he turned back to his brother. "Are we done for today then?"

Itachi nodded his head. "Yes, head home and rest, we'll continue training tomorrow at the same time. See you lot tomorrow." Itachi said and turned and walked over to Naruto, crouching down in front of a now fully alert Naruto, but some of the grogginess was still visible. "Do you need help getting home?" Itachi asked gently.

Naruto scowled and shook his head. "I'll be fine and I already told you, I don't need your help." Naruto stated once more before looking away and taking a drink from the bottle of water Itachi had handed out earlier.

Itachi sighed but nodded his head. "I'll see you tomorrow then, but you won't be training." Itachi informed him sternly, ignoring the stubborn set to Naruto's jaw. "Alright, good night then." Itachi said as he patted the boy on the head and disappeared, Sakura and Sasuke leaving only moments later.

But Naruto wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon and instead walked back towards the trees, stopping at the tree line of the training ground and choosing a tree. "I'm not sleeping until I get to the top of this stupid tree." Naruto muttered as he pulled out a kunai, slipped off his other sandal off, tossed his jacket to the side again, and soon was running right at the tree full force.

Itachi Sensei

Itachi felt a tick appear as he stared at a blonde mop of hair lying on a branch in a tree, snoring lightly as the person slept. "I should've known." Itachi muttered as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Did he stay here all night?" Sakura asked in horror, taking in the fact that Naruto's jacket, sandals, and water bottle all lay off to the side. "Is he insane?"

Sasuke just looked at the tree in grudging respect. "He obviously was training, even while injured." Sasuke said as he looked at all the cuts on the tree, a frown appearing on his face as he realized that they seemed to go all the way up the tree. "I'll be right back." Sasuke said as he leapt onto the tree, running the full length of the tree, taking in all the cut marks. Sasuke reached the very top and stared at the Kunai that was lodge there before he jumped back down to the ground, using the branches as his landings. "He made it all the way to the top." Sasuke informed.

Itachi sighed again as he looked back to the branch that still had a snoozing blonde, wondering how he got the stubborn and insane kid on his genin team. "I'll let him sleep a little bit before I take you guys for the next part of Chakra control exercises. Until then you two can spar." Itachi informed the two of them before he jumped into the tree to check on Naruto.

The blonde looked fine and when Itachi unwrapped the boy's bandaged ankle, he found that the ankle wasn't injured, not even slight bruising was left.

Itachi Sensei

A.N. Haha, this is starting to get a little interesting now. I can't wait to see if Itachi ever figures out why Naruto doesn't like Uchihas and why it seems that he has problems with people helping him. Haha Itachi should've known that Naruto was going to be fine either way too. Alright, next chapter is coming up soon!

Next up: First C Rank Mission and First Confrontation as Ninja!


	4. C-Rank Mission

Chapter Four

C-Rank Mission

A month had passed since Itachi had obtained his Genin team and by this time, he was about ready to pull his hair out in frustration or clock each genin in the face.

Don't get him wrong or anything, Itachi enjoyed his team very much, but at times he was ready to throttle them as well.

Sakura was a fangirl that was obsessed with Sasuke and would constantly refuse to do anything that could cause Sasuke's disdain towards her, in turn making Sasuke hate her because she wasn't being helpful on missions. Though Sakura was adamant about becoming stronger and trained exceedingly hard, to the point where she hadn't a problem fighting Sasuke to get stronger now; she still had yet to beat either of the boys though.

Sasuke was taking after their father in terms of morals and attitude. Itachi had to tell Sasuke several times to work as a team and other times he had to in fact pull Sasuke away from the other two when he became too ferocious during spars. The boy also seemed to forget that it was by working with his team that things would become easier and so the missions tended to be long and tedious because of the split in the team. Sasuke though showed that he had no problem taking advice from Sakura on Chakra control or admitting that he was much slower and has less energy than Naruto, which allowed Sasuke to also critique his teammates and help them to become stronger in turn.

Naruto proved to be the stubborn one and caused the most difficulties. The blonde refused to allow any help from Itachi and would snarl at him that he didn't need the help from him but then would turn around and ask Sakura for advice. Itachi had no idea how to get Naruto to allow him to help, especially when the blonde got injured during training and when that happened, he allowed no one near him unless forced or held down. The upside to the blonde was that he was able to get missions done faster thanks to his Shadow clones and that he seemed to bring a brightness that made each of the them smile in their own way.

Itachi sighed as he watched the three walk across the water while balancing a leaf on their foreheads and a bucket of water on their heads. Sakura was in full control and was easily walking across the water with a smirk on her face, making the Elder Uchiha think she was around Sasuke a little too much. Sasuke was scowling as he struggled to keep the bucket on his head, the bucket swaying every now and then as he moved. Naruto was obviously having the most trouble and it showed by the way that the leaf on the blonde's head kept slipping lower and lower until it was on the tip of his nose and the bucket trembling tremulously.

"Wow, I can't believe how easy this is!" Sakura stated as she came to stand next to Itachi, allowing the leaf to flutter away and set the bucket on the ground next to her. "But why does Naruto have so much trouble with it? I mean with the chakra he has shouldn't this be easy for him?" Sakura asked as she looked over at Naruto just in time to watch him lose all control.

Itachi sighed as Naruto fell into the river, the bucket popping up on top of Naruto's head, covering the blonde's face. "That's not how it works Sakura; the reason why you have so much control over you chakra is because you have less than either of the boys and so can control it easier. Sasuke has above average for a genin and so has a little less control than you."

Itachi explained as he pointed as Sasuke and then towards Naruto that was back on top of the water with the bucket on his head. "Naruto though, his chakra levels are equal to that of a seasoned Jounin and because of that he has pretty much no control over it. The less chakra you start out with is preferred because then they can teach how to control if before they give you ways of increasing it."

Sakura nodding her head in understanding. "So the more chakra one has the harder it is to control? Is that why Naruto wasn't able to do the Bunshin back in the academy?" Sakura asked curiously.

Itachi nodded his head. "Yes to both. Naruto over loads the simple Bunshin because he had no control at all over his chakra then, but with the Shadow Clone he can waste chakra to make them and not butcher the jutsu too. And thanks to the amounts of chakra he has he can make more than ten as well." The Sensei turned towards Sasuke as the raven arrived to the other side finally, a scowl on his face. "Good job Sasuke, you're getting better at this."

Sasuke scowled but nodded his head as he sat the bucket next to Sakura's before he turned in time to watch Naruto fall again, about in the middle of the river this time. Once Naruto had surfaced again with the bucket on his head Sasuke couldn't help but poke at him. "Come on Dobe, if Sakura and I can do this, then so can you!" Sasuke stated.

Naruto lifted the bucket off of his head and stood on top of the water again, this time he didn't put the bucket on his head, instead he threw it at Sasuke's head. "Shut up Teme!" Naruto yelled as he walked over to them, pulling his jacket off and then his pants. "It's not like I'm not trying you know." He stated, ignoring Sakura's complaints on his stripping until he was left in only his boxers. "This is just really hard alright." Naruto stated as he picked up his bucket from where it had landed after Sasuke had dodged it.

Itachi nodded his head. "It's understandable that you find this to be difficult."  
Naruto glared at him and went to say something but Sasuke beat him to it. "After all, you're the dobe in the end, like always." He said as he turned and walked away from the tree.

Naruto growled and threw the bucket again, this time though, Sasuke wasn't able to dodge it as it nailed him in the back of the head with a dull thunk. "At least I'm not a snob who doesn't know what he has right in front of him Teme!" Naruto growled at him.

Sasuke stopped and turned to glare at the blonde. "What's that supposed to mean huh idiot?" Sasuke asked as he stalked back towards Naruto, hand going to his kunai holster.

Naruto smirked at him evilly as he reached for his pants that had his Kunai holster. "I mean that you are nothing more than a spoilt little brat who has his mommy wipe his nose for him." At this point Sasuke had thrown the kunai which was in turn deflected by one of Naruto's kunai knives, one flying high up into the air and the other embedding into the ground. Sasuke and Naruto ran at each other but before their fists could meet an Itachi grabbed both of them and held them back from each other. The kunai deflected into the air hitting the ground a second later.

Itachi couldn't help but sigh tiredly as he looked at the two struggling Genin, his shadow clones appearing to have absolutely no difficulties holding the two back. "You two are impossible." Itachi said as he came to stand in between them. "You need to knock this off or I'll call off that C-rank with Team Wolf later this week."

This instantly stopped both genin in their tracks and stared at him with wide horrified eyes. "You can't do that!" Naruto shouted as he suddenly appeared in front of the real Itachi, the shadow clone blinking in surprise along with the real Itachi. "This would be my first time out of the village, don't take that away from me!" Naruto said with wide blue eyes staring at Itachi pleadingly.

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement as the clone holding onto him released him, both Itachi clones dispersing afterwards. "The dobe is right; this'll be my first time that I remember leaving the village." Sasuke said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she came to stand next to Itachi. "Well, Itachi-sensei is right either way, you two have been fighting all week every day at the littlest provocation." Sakura said as she sent her glare at Naruto, who looked hurt at the glare being directed at only him.

"Sakura's right, I don't know what's going on between you two this week, but it needs to stop or I will cancel the C-rank mission. Can you two control yourselves for one more day?" Itachi asked with a glare sent at either boy. The two nodded their heads and Itachi nodded his head in return. "Alright then, Sasuke and Sakura, I want you two to spar, Naruto, continue with the exercise until you can get across the river without falling in." Itachi ordered.

The genins instantly went to work while Itachi watched Naruto, making sure the blonde didn't drown himself by accident.

Itachi Sensei

"Alright, you know what we're supposed to do?" Itachi asked as he looked at his team, each having a backpack of some kind and supplies for the trip.

Sakura nodded her head along with the two boys. "We're to escort Tazuna the bridge builder back to his home, the Wave country, and protect him from thieves." She said happily.

"We'll be working along with this team Wolf- that is apparently comprised of three Chuunin- and they will be assisting us because the Hokage feels that Tazuna is keeping something from us." Sasuke said as he looked out towards the road they would be taking to get to the Wave Country.

"If we figure out what it is that Tazuna is hiding and it becomes to a dangerous situation, we are to report and either continue the mission on your order or leave on your order." Naruto finished with a smile, excited that he'd actually be leaving the village for the first time in his life. "So where is this guy and the other three? I wanna get going." Naruto said as he looked towards the village, as if he'd see them right then.

"Ah so this is the team that'll be escorting me back home huh? A bunch of brats you lot are, weak looking too. Especially that short blonde idiotic looking one." An old man said, gray hair hidden underneath a straw hat and a gray beard and mustache covering a portion of his face. Glasses covered his brown eyes that shimmered in displeasure; he wore a brown shirt and gray pants with wooden sandals on his feet.

Naruto growled as he realized who he was making fun of and went to jump him but was stopped when a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Whoa there kid, it's not in your best interest to hurt the client now." Naruto turned to yell at the idiot who stopped him but blinked when he realized that it wasn't someone from his team.

Instead it was a boy that was about eighteen, black spiky hair and tan skin, onyx eyes covered by orange goggles while his headband was positioned on his forehead. He wore a long sleeved black shirt with a sword strap going across his chest while his sword was obviously positioned on his back. White long pants covered his legs with black ninja sandals on his feet and he wore white fingerless gloves.

"He's right, I know some clients can be difficult but you need to learn to keep your cool when you are on a mission." A girl this time, same age as the first boy, her brown hair held in a high ponytail with some of it framing her face but mainly out of her brown eyes, and purple rectangle like marks on her cheeks. She wore a blue sleeveless shirt with a Chuunin vest over it and black kunoichi shorts and knee high blue ninja sandals. She had brown gloves and her headband was positioned on her forehead.

"He's just a stupid Genin, most likely his first time even escorting a client." Another voice interjecting, leaving Naruto surrounded by the three new arrivals, but Naruto quickly turned to glare at the last one. He looked the same age as the other two and had silvery hair that seemed to defy gravity and stood straight up, dark brown almost black eyes stared at him coldly, the rest of his face hidden from the nose down by a mask that went all the way to his neck. He wore a blue long sleeve shirt and blue matching pants that were tapped down at the ankles, and a Chuunin vest. His head band was on his forehead and he wore black fingerless gloves that had metal plates on the back of his hands. A short like sword was placed on his lower back and in easy reach.

"I'm not stupid!" Naruto growled as he reached for his Kunai pouch, but stopped from a look from Itachi. "I'm not stupid." Naruto muttered as he crossed his arms instead and looked away from the silver haired teen.

The black haired boy ruffled the blonde's hair with a laugh. "Don't take it personally, Bakashi is always like that." The boy informed Naruto, causing the blonde to chuckle.

The girl laughed before turning to Itachi. "Team Wolf reporting for duty Itachi-san." She said with a small smile. "My name is Rin; I'm the medical Ninja of the group." She informed.

"I'm Obito Uchiha and I'm the Ninjutsu expert of the team." Obito stated. Itachi glanced at Naruto and blinked when he realized that Naruto stood next to Obito without glaring at the older teen.

"Kakashi Hatake, Ken- and Tai- Jutsu expert." The teen with silver hair said monotonously as he looked at Itachi with blank eyes. "Shall we go then?" He asked as he began walking, causing Tazuna to stumble to keep up with the team as they followed him.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." Sakura said as she shook Rin's own hand. "I don't have a specialty though; I'm not quite sure what I want to even do as a ninja yet really." Sakura said and Rin instantly went into trying to convince the younger girl into becoming a fellow Medical Ninja.

"Haha, Rin is up to it again." Obito said as he looked down at the blonde boy who was walking next to him on the right side of Tazuna, Rin and Sakura were on the left, Itachi at the back, and Kakashi and Sasuke at the front. "She can talk for hours about Medical ninja and their techniques when given a chance." Obito explained to the curious look that Naruto gave him.

Naruto nodded his head. "I can understand that, Sakura won't stop talking once she's on the subject of Teme." Naruto stated calmly, looking at the front where Sasuke was walking quietly next to Kakashi.

Obito blinked in surprise and laughing out loud. "Another Fangirl! Hahaha! That's great! Rin use to be one too before we got caught up in a bad situation once and because of that she's focused entirely on becoming a great medic. She doesn't want anyone on our team to get hurt after that." Naruto nodded at that. "Oh, I don't think I asked, what's your name?"

Naruto smiled at that before he threw his hands behind his head as he introduced himself. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage."

Obito grinned at that but before he could reply Tazuna spoke up. "A runt like you, Hokage, yeah right. A Hokage is a leader and a leader is someone wise and powerful. From the looks of it, your neither." He stated as he took a swig out of his jug, Naruto scrunching his nose in distaste at the smell of Sake.

"That's only because I've just become a genin, but I'll get stronger the more I train and gain experience." Naruto said as he glared at Tazuna. "You'll have to acknowledge me after I become Hokage though!" Naruto yelled at the old man.

"No I won't. Not even if you do become Hokage." He said as he walked pass a shaking in rage Naruto.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto announced but Obito stopped him by quickly wrapping an arm around his torso and holding him against his chest.

"No you won't, I told you that killing the client isn't in the best of interests." Obito said as he continued to walk while holding Naruto back from attacking Tazuna.

To diffuse the situation, Sakura stepped in and looked at Tazuna. "Um Tazuna?"

"What?" He asked as he looked at the young Kunoichi.

"You're from the Wave Country, right?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her before nodding her head. "What about it?" He asked.

"Itachi-Sensei, are there ninja in the Wave too?" Sakura asked as she looked back at her sensei.

Itachi shook his head. "No, not in Wave country. There are Ninja villages in other countries though and their customs and traditions differ from the Leaf, but they do exist as do their ninja." Itachi explained.

Rin nodded her head in agreement. "That's right and a Shinobi village means military power for most countries. They will hold and maintain advantages over each other but that won't stop them from battling. It also helps that the Shinobi villages themselves do not rule the country but stand alongside that countries' government." She explained helpfully.

"Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Sand, and Stone are all powerful and large countries, thus they are referred to as the five great Shinobi Villages." Obito added as he finally set Naruto on his feet, the blonde glaring at him for a second before listening as well. "And because of this they have Shinobi villages in them and the villages themselves are ruled by the Kages, the strongest and wisest ninja in that village. The Hokage of the Leaf, the Mizukage of the Mist, the Raikage of the Cloud, the Kazekage of the Sand, and the Tsuchikage of the Stone." Obito finished.

'There's no way that old man/geezer/timer is that powerful.' The three genin thought at the same time.

"I have a feeling you all three just doubted the Hokage." Itachi said with a sigh while all three genin acted innocent, making Rin and Obito laugh at them. "Either way though, we shouldn't be meeting up with any Shinobi on this C-rank mission." Itachi said.

That was when the chains wrapped around his body and squeezed. "Itachi-Sensei!" Sakura yelled as she watched her Sensei be cut apart into pieces.

The three Chuunin instantly surrounded Tazuna, protecting him as two ninja wearing respirators and black cloaks appeared, one heading for the three Chuunin, intent on wrapping them up in the chain they was connected by. "One down." One said aloud.

Kakashi acted instantly as he pulled out his short sword and cut the chain in half, ceasing the two ninja from wrapping them in the chain. One realized that he wasn't going to be able to beat these ninja since their surprise had faded and instead went to strike conflict in the team by attacking one of the weaker ninja. He turned towards Sakura, intent on taking her out.

The second one continued his attack against the three Chuunin, not about to give up until the old man was down. But he was quickly dispatched as Obito and Kakashi both stabbed him in the arms with their swords, stopping his clawed hands coming any closer to them.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, bringing the attention to the three genin that had been brought with them. Sasuke had realized what was going to happen and so had appeared in front of her to protect her, as Naruto realized that too and had appeared in front of Sasuke a split second later. Itachi had appeared in front of his genins but hadn't been able to stop the clawed hand that the ninja was wearing as it lodged itself into Naruto's bicep.

"I'm fine." Naruto said as he put pressure on the wound, glaring at Sakura who tried to get him to move his hand so she could see it. "Stop that Sakura, I'm fine, it was just a scratch." Naruto said as he yanked his arm away, only to have Rin appear in front of him with a frown on her face.

"These ninja have poison soaking those claws Naruto; we have to get it removed quickly." Rin stated as she quickly ripped the sleeve off of Naruto's jacket and shirt sleeve, ignoring Naruto's protest as she looked at the already green wound. "It's fast spreading too." Rin stated as she pulled something out of her pouch and held it in front of Naruto. "This is a plasma pill; eat it so you'll get more blood." Rin stated and once Naruto had grudgingly complied she pulled out a medical scalpel and stabbed it into Naruto's arm.

Naruto yelped in pain and tried to yank his arm back, but was stopped by Obito who was holding him steady from behind. "Just hold still long enough for Rin to do her thing." Obito said with a small smile. "You'll be fine; Rin is the best Medic ever."

Naruto scowled but then yelped in pain again as another cut was made on his arm, green slime oozing out of his arm as he began to bleed heavily. Sakura stood nearby, watching the process with worry and fascination while Sasuke watched with a blank face. "Will he be okay?" Sakura asked Rin, actually worried about the blonde since he tried to save her and Sasuke.

Rin nodded her head decisively. "He'll be fine, it's a common poison and I carry the antidote in my medical kit." She said as she wiped the area clean and pulled out said medical kit, rummaging through it until she came to a yellow vile with a needle attached to it. "Here it is, now hold still Naruto." Rin said as she jabbed the needle just above the cut. Naruto winced at the rough treatment but said nothing while Obito was pale and shaking behind him. Rin rolled her eyes at her teammate as she pulled out bandages. "Buck up Obito, it wasn't you I was jabbing with a needle this time."

Obito nodded his head shakily. "Yeah, l-lucky me." Obito stuttered out as he finally released Naruto, just for the blonde to be held by Rin as she began to wrap bandages around the arm.

"You'll be tired for a couple of days, but you'll be fine." Rin said as she finished the bandaging, quickly removing his backpack and ruined coat, shoving the coat in the pack before tossing it at Sasuke. "Carry that for him um…"

Sasuke scowled at her before shouldering the bag. "Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke." He informed her.

Rin nodded her head with a smile. "Thank you Sasuke. Obito, give your bag to Kakashi, you'll be carrying Naruto for the rest of today." Obito nodded and silently handed the bag to Kakashi, who shouldered it quickly, and then the raven Chuunin crouch down so Naruto could climb onto his back. "Go ahead and climb on Naruto." Rin said with a smile, thinking the genin would be thankful for the rest.

"No." Naruto stated as he glared at the girl.

Kakashi and Obito stiffened at that while a dark aura surrounded Rin. "What did you just say?" Rin asked as she smiled sweetly at Naruto. "Because I know you didn't just say no to me."

"Kid, just get on the loser's back." Kakashi said to Naruto as he turned towards Itachi, who was talking with Tazuna. "I don't want to deal with an angry Rin."

Naruto glared at the back of the silver haired male's head and shook his head. "I said no, I can walk on my own. I'm fine." Naruto stated as he turned to get his bag back from Sasuke but was stopped when a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. "Hey! Let me go!" Naruto exclaimed as Rin dragged him over to the still crouched Obito.

"I'm the medic here and I know what is best! You are going to be carried for today and that's final!" Rin growled as she pushed Naruto onto Obito's back and before the blonde could escape Obito stood up with Naruto's legs in his hold, carrying him piggyback style. "There we go, now stay there or I will tie you to Obito." Rin threatened with a smile.

Naruto went to say something but grunted instead when Obito pinched his legs. "Let it go Naruto, Rin is a Medic and Medics are known for having short fuses when not listened to." Obito informed him with a small smile. "Besides, you'll get to rest for today and do nothing, isn't that great!?" Obito asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes but then sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever." This got a jerk from Sasuke and Itachi both since Naruto made it a point to fight against them no matter what. For him to agree with an Uchiha that easily- especially one he just met- was confounding to say the least. "Can we just get going?"

Itachi nodded his head as he turned to look at the group. "Tazuna has explained the situation to me and we'll continue on since I'm sure we are perfectly capable of taking on what comes. Obito, I'll leave you in charge of Naruto, Kakashi you'll watch Sasuke, and Rin you'll watch Sakura. Make sure nothing happens to them incase I'm incapacitated or battling." Itachi ordered.

"Yes sir!" All three Chuunin replied and then everyone began walking, the situation being explained as they continued to move.

"So Gatuo, as in Gatuo Company? Isn't he like one of the wealthiest people in the country?" Obito asked as he adjusted Naruto so he could have a better hold of the blonde.

"That's right." Tazuna said as he looked at the ninja as they walked. "On the front he runs a shipping business but behind the scenes he sales drugs and slaves and much more. He uses gangs and ninjas to take over other businesses and countries, a very nasty piece of work." Tazuna said with his nose scrunched up in distaste. "A year ago he set his sights on Wave and took over the shipping industries there and now he monopolies all of the business traffic in the country. The bridge is the only thing he has left to fear once it is complete."

"So the bridge will help bring in business and since you're the one building it, you're in the way." Sakura said with a tilted head.

"Making those ninja belong to Gatuo." Sasuke added.

Sakura nodded her head in agreement before turning back to Tazuna. "But why lie about the rank of the mission. This is at least a B-rank right? So why hide the fact that you had ninja come after you?" Sakura asked.

Tazuna bowed his head as his eyes narrowed in anger and sadness. "The Wave country is super poor, even the feudal lord has no money; there wasn't a chance that we could afford a B-rank mission." Tazuna admitted. "Which is why I'm thankful that you're all still willing to take on this mission; even after I lied about the ranking of the mission itself."

"Don't think anything of it; I just hate not completing a mission." Kakashi said up front, making his teammates sweat drop.

"Hehe, that's Bakashi for you. What do you think Naruto?" Obito asked but when he didn't get an answer he glanced back at the blonde. Once he saw why he hadn't answered, Obito couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess he was more tired than he let on." He said as he glanced over to a smiling Rin.

"Let him sleep, he'll heal faster that way." Rin said softly, indicating for everyone else to be silent as well. The only sound from then on was the sound of footsteps and the soft breathing of a sleeping boy.

Itachi Sensei

Sasuke climbed off of the boat, looking around as he stepped out of the way for the others to get off. He knew that something was off already and he was sure the others knew about so he didn't say anything, instead he readied himself to react in a moment's notice.

Kakashi was next to him again as they took the front, moving swiftly and quietly, both looking around to make sure they weren't ambushed. "Do you got him?" Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to see Obito getting help from Rin, Naruto being placed on the raven haired boy's back again. The blonde hadn't been feeling well for a couple days now, throwing up when no one was around and constantly holding his head with one hand but was caught when Obito walked on him throwing up. Rin found out that Naruto had literally been loaded with more poison than she had at first thought- Naruto had acted and looked fine- and had been forced to put Naruto on a regime for the antidote, he still had a week for the antidote and then the poison would be gone from his system.

"Yeah, I got him, go and be with Sakura, I have a feeling things are about to get a little out of hand." Obito said with a serious look, causing Rin's eyes to widen and Kakashi to stiffen slightly.

"Got it, be careful yourself Obito, I want to check him over again when we get to Tazuna's." Rin said as she jogged over to stand next to Sakura, pulling out a kunai to keep at the ready. "Be on guard Sakura." Rin advised her.

Sakura blinked at her and then looked at Obito before back at Rin. "Are you really going to take him seriously?" Sakura asked, she was wondering why anyone would listen to just one person's gut when it could mean anything in real life.

Rin nodded her assent. "Yes I'm taking him seriously because every time Obito has a feeling; it normally ends up being right." Rin said as she looked up at Kakashi, who had his hand settled on the handle of his short sword. "Just trust me when I say to be ready alright." Rin said as she smiled at the young girl beside her.

Itachi felt the tension from the Chuunin and smiled at them, proud of how they were ready to protect their charges. 'I just hope it's not someone too serious, but I doubt it'll be more Chuunin.' Itachi thought as he looked around the foliage.

They were about four miles into Wave when Itachi felt it. One large chakra signature and the sound of something flying at them. "Hit the ground!" Itachi yelled as he tackled Tazuna and covered the man with his own body.

Obito quickly hit the ground, pulling Naruto off of his back and hiding the genin with his own body. Rin and Sakura hit the ground, Sakura covering head while Rin covered her with her own body. Kakashi had hit the ground and Sasuke was right behind him, both watching the air as something flew right over their heads and then embed into a tree. "That was close." Obito muttered as he quickly picked Naruto up bridle style, the boy was still unconscious.

Rin nodded her head as she help Sakura stand up quickly, Kakashi and Sasuke were already up and ready to fight. "Who is it?" Rin asked as she looked up to where the sword was stuck, only for her eyes to widen.

"Zabuza Momochi, the Devil of the Mist." Itachi said as he stared up at the Jounin Missing Nin.

"Aw crap, I hate it when my feelings are right." Obito groaned as he moved closer to his teammates, holding Naruto close to his chest to protect him.

"I hate that too since it's rare for you to be right." Kakashi said with a blank face. "You should never be right since it leads to bad things."

Obito glared at him but turned back towards Zabuza. "For once, I'm inclined to agree with you Kakashi. My feelings aren't such good things after all."

Itachi Sensei

A.N. Haha! Zabuza comes onto the scene! This is great I can't wait to see what happens next and will Naruto be alright? We'll find out in the next chapter, so review!

Next up: Zabuza VS Itachi, who'll win!


	5. AN

NOTICE TO ALL READERS!

Due to technical difficulties and a dead laptop with no real other revenues to continue with my stories

EVERYTHING I HAVE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FINISHED HAS BEEN PUT ON HIATUS!

There are no exceptions due to limited time or resources.

Not to mention the fact that I lost everything that I had been writing for this website.

So until I am able to obtain a laptop that is up to my expectations and desires I will not

I repeat!

WILL NOT

be continuing any stories for a period of six to eight months.

Sorry for all my readers for the delay but with the shortage of money in my bank account I am unable to obtain a new laptop and continue my stories.

Again my apologies for the inconvenience.

Blackwolfhunting.


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